Love or Something Like It
by unperfectwolf
Summary: Het, Kel.Joren . on a LONGASS hiatus . AU . Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.
1. Prologue

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce

**A/N:** Hello all. Um, yes... this struck me... and I wrote... I'm almost done with chapter one, too....

Prologue:

They glanced at each other as they walked side by side into the building. The secretary recognized them and nodded to the chairs across from her.

She buzzed the intercom. "Sir, Joren Stone and Keladry Mindelan are here to see you."

"Send them in, then," a voice replied.

The two stood with out needing to be told and moved down the hall. As they entered a room, the man behind the desk stood.

He was tall, with hazel eyes and brown hair. He reached a hand out and shook each of theirs. Then they sat.

Kel, a tall, slim girl with brown hair that hung down her back and hazel eyes, watched their boss carefully. He didn't often like it when they showed up ahead of schedule, especially when they were together.

Joren, who was even taller, had white hair that fell to his shoulders and ice blue eyes that flashed dangerously.

Their boss, head of the Allied States of the Eastern Lands Security Force (also know just plainly as the Security Force), sighed as he sat. "And why, exactly, are you here?"

Joren looked at him, and rolled his eyes. Kel spoke. "You know George, for someone who claims to be the best of the best, you really should be more perceptive."

Joren snorted and Gorge rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't you all be reporting to Miles? Isn't he your official boss?"

Joren nodded. "Yeah, he is, but he's fishing today. And he'd just send us to you, because he hates having us work for him because he never knows what we're going to do."

George Swoop nodded. His father-in-law, Miles Olau liked to know what was going on. When these two went out, they didn't report until they came back, and they never came back before their assigned date.

"So, what exactly do you want?" he asked, trying the question in a different form. He hoped it wasn't what he thought it was.

"We want a new assignment," they chorused.

George sighed. They were here for what he feared. "Well, I just got off the phone with President Contè. He wants an undercover team in Galla. I was hoping I would actually have time to relay the news of the orders to Miles before you guys showed up."

"Why's the President want a team in Galla?" Kel asked, confused as to why the President just didn't ask his cousin, the Governor of the state of Galla, for whatever he needed.

"Because there's an undergound child labor movement in Galla. They're bringing children in from all over and sending them to Galla, then on to The Roof. Because it's not a state yet, it's hard to enforce laws there. The mines all use children, and someone has to be the leader of this group," George sighed.

Joren nodded. "And the President thinks it's Governor Roger Contè."

George nodded. "Exactly."

For a few minutes, they were all silent. Finally Kel stood. "Well then. I guess we should get ready. With this week and a half we've had off, I guess we could leave in say… four days?" she glanced at Joren.

He nodded his consent. "Yeah."

George nodded as well. "Alright then. I'll see you in 21 months, four days."

Kel smiled as they left. She was glad they'd gotten bored and decided to go in four weeks before their off time officially ended. This case was one she wanted to handle.

~*~

Three days later, Kel sat in a bar with a group of her friends. They were all confused as to why Kel would ever give up time off and go back on a mission that was three months shy of two years long.

Neal, the oldest of them all, rolled his eyes. "Why do you do this? I don't think you've actually taken a full five and a half weeks off the whole time you've been an officer."

Kel nodded, taking a sip of her beer. "No, I haven't. You're right."

Merric laughed. "Well, that's our Kel four you."

Cleon, Owen, Prosper, Faleron and Roald laughed. Roald looked at her curiously. "What exactly is this mission you and Stone are going on?"

She eyed him. "One your father wanted Swoop to put some undercovers on."

Eyebrows raised. She was going on a mission from the president. Humm…

"So, Kel, tell us. What is it like having three years of Joren under your belt?" Neal asked.

Kel laughed. She had been paired up with Joren right out of training. Joren had just lost a partner in an operation, and she had needed one, graduating early from her class of officers.

Normally they went of nine month stints, or 14 month stints. This would be the longest one yet.

"Well, it's actually okay. Once he got over the fact that I was female and had a record as good as his, it was fine. When we worked, he was actually a good partner. He's smart, and he's taut me a lot of things.

"But Kel! This is _Joren Stone_ were talking about," Cleon cried.

Kel nodded. "Yeah, and?"

"Um… He's annoying. He likes to beat people up… Um, he's annoying?" Own said.

Kel rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and he's a good officer."

"Well, if he's so good, what happened to his first partner?" asked Neal.

Joren had graduated two years ahead of them, and been partnered with a man by the name of Vincent.

Kel eyed them, then sighed. "He died while they were on the mission."

Prosper nodded. "And how did this happen?"

Kel shrugged. She knew. Oh, yeah, she knew. But she wasn't going to tell anyone anything. Vincent had been a traitor, and Joren had the wounds to prove it. He'd died, and Joren had made sure of it.

Faleron rolled his eyes. "Come on Kel, tell us!"

Kel shook her head. "I'm done talking about it, okay?"

"Yeah, she's done," a voice behind Kel said.

Kel yawned to hide her smile. Joren. He always made the best entrances.

Neal eyed the man behind his friend. "And how would you know, Stone?"

"Uh, because she said so?" Joren's tone was nasty. Kel rolled he eyes.

"Okay, boys, lets end this, shall we? Please, this bar doesn't need your blood all over the floor."

Joren laughed, "Sure, sure…" he looked down at Kel. "How'd you get here? I didn't see your bike in the parking lot."

She smiled. "Yeah, Neal gave me and Prosper a ride."

He nodded. "Well, I came in to pay my tab, then I'm heading back. We're leaving at 4:30, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I should leave and get sleep," Kel smirked.

"Considering you're following me on your bike until Tusaine, yeah. I don't want you to hit be when you fall asleep," Joren's lips twitched into an almost smirk.

"Well then, if you'll give me a ride…" Kel raised an eyebrow.

Joren's eyes narrowed and he eyed her. Finally turning away towards the counter, he called over his shoulder. "I'll meet you by my bike in three."

Neal's eyebrows rose in surprise. "He, Joren Stone, is going to let you ride on his bike?"

Kel shrugged her shoulders. "It looks like it." She took out some bills and threw them down. "See ya guys." She hugged each of them and then walked out the door. A few seconds after her, Joren exited.

Neal watched, awe on his face. "She's getting a ride back to base with Joren Stone."

"Their partners, Neal. He's probably a lot nicer when he's alone than when he's surrounded by people," Prosper said.

The rest of the guy shrugged. "Maybe next time she comes back, she'll tell us how his old partner died."

Kel stood next to the bike for a few seconds before Joren appeared. "You ready, Kel?"

She nodded, smiling at him. "I bet their talking up a storm about us now."

Joren laughed. "Yeah, well, I've got to look out for you. You're my partner, right?" He smirked. "Plus, you're a girl. And I wouldn't trust Queenscove to get you home by 3 in the morning. I was telling the truth. I don't want you crashing into me."

Kel rolled her eyes at Joren's better than thou attitude. It was going to be a long 21 months.


	2. 1: Returning Plus One

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce

**A/N:** Ah... um... yeah.

Chapter 1: Returning Plus One

They were the only car on the road, as far as she could see. It was dark, and the headlights went a long way. Leaning her head against the window, she watched the dark shapes of the hills as they rolled by.

She'd been driving almost all day. They'd stopped at a little town just this side of Tusaine, along The Great East SuperRoad for dinner. Joren had driven from there. It was somewhere around 3 in the morning, and they had been through Naxen half an hour ago. They'd make it to Corus by mid morning.

With out warning, Joren pulled into the exit lane and drove into a small town. Pulling up to a small motel, he glanced at her.

"We should probably get some sleep before we go and talk to Gorge or Miles," he explained half-heartedly.

Kel nodded and got out, collecting the stuff in the back on her side.

Joren opened the back door on his side of the small SUV, and looked down at the seat. Finally he unlatched the car seat from it's base and picked up the infant seat. Shutting the door, he glanced at Kel as they came around the front. "Once we know which room is ours, I'll unload the bags."

Kel nodded. As they entered the hotel lobby, the bright florescent lights shone down, giving their dark adjusted eyes a shock. Everything had a blue tinge.

At the counter, Joren asked for a single room. The clerk nodded. "Thank you…" he looked down at the name on the ID Joren had given him, "Mr. and Mrs. Stone. Enjoy your stay."

Neither bothered to correct the clerk. It just brought more attention to them if they tried to convince the clerk that they weren't married, especially since they had Vivian with them.

As they entered the Hotel room, Joren set the car seat on the middle of the bed, then left to go get their bags. When he returned, he set up the portable crib for Vivian and Kel set her down in it, covering her with a blanket. With a nod to Joren, she went into the bathroom, Joren wasn't surprised when he heard the shower start. They'd been driving for three days straight now.

Knocking gently, he asked if he could enter and Kel yelled yes back. As he got ready for bed, he pondered just exactly how Vivian was going to be explained to anyone.

He knew that when Kel had found her, abandoned, she wasn't letting he go. When she went to get a "replacement ID" for the little girl, she's made a birthdate, seeing how the little infant was about two and a half weeks old when they found her, and gave his name as the father's. She actually hadn't planed on it, but she actually had forgotten they would ask her that.

Now, it seemed, she was Vivian's mother and he was her father. Legally. And neither knew what to tell anyone.

Not to long after he had returned to the main room, Kel joined them. They'd become experts at sharing a bed, though every now and then, one woke up in the arms of the other.

When Kel settled onto her side of the bed, Joren spoke. "You know, I was thinking… Their gonna give us an apartment together on base, once they find out about Vivian."

Kel nodded. "I know. I was thinking I could probably get a mattress into Vivian's room for me, if you wanted."

Joren sighed. "I was thinking we could just live like this, ya know?"

Kel eyed him. "Sharing a bed, you mean?"

"Well, everyone's gonna think that we're together, so how would we explain you sleeping in Viv's room? And, well, it's not that bad, you know…" he stumbled over the last words.

Kel smiled slightly. He was right. This wasn't so bad. She actually didn't think she'd be able to sleep, if there wasn't another presence next to her. She'd become to used to it.

Finally, she spoke, claming Joren's bouncing nerves. "Alright… I kinda like the idea."

Minutes later, both were asleep and Joren's arm was slung across he middle.

~*~

When Joren backed the burgundy SUV into a stall in the parking garage, Kel was asleep against the door. In the back seat, Vivian was sound asleep as well.

He jumped out of the car and unhitched the trailer, the one with their bikes in it, and then parked next to it. Before getting out the second time, he looked over at Kel. When she was sound asleep, she looked clam. She'd been worried lately, about what would happen when they came back, and when she slept, it went away. Joren smiled slightly, and then shook he shoulder gently. "Kel, were there…"

Kel sat up, rubbing her eyes. She smiled faintly at Joren as they both climbed out of the car, and then grabbed the diaper bag from the backseat, leaving Joren to get Vivian.

Hesitating slightly, he finally unbuckled the seatbelt from the car seat and then picked it up. As they headed towards the elevator, Kel held the diaper bag out to Joren and took Vivian from him.

With a grateful smile, he took the bag.

When they entered the offices, the secretary was new. Kel stood back and let Joren talk to the girl.

"I'm Joren Stone, and that's my partner, Kel. We're supposed to report immediately to Mr. Swoop upon return," he stared at her as he said this.

The girl was small, with dark hair and skin. "Well, have a seat and when Mr., Swoop come's out of his meeting with Mrs. Olau-Swoop and Mr. Olau, you can see him."

"Well," he glanced at her name tag, "Lalasa, since all of them are together, it will save him the work of calling them all."

Joren smiled and turned to Kel, who nodded as they walked down the hall to George's office. Without knocking, Joren opened the door and entered, holding it open for Kel as well.

Sitting in the chairs, Miles and Alanna were forced to turn and look, but George was afforded a good view of the people entering his office.

"Joren, Kel, welcome ba…. Back." He stuttered, seeing what Kel was carrying.

Alanna's eyebrows went up, and Miles' jaw dropped.

"Thanks, George," Kel said as she moved behind Miles to a chair in the corner and sat down. She set Vivian on the floor next to her, and Joren followed her, leaning against the wall on the other side of Vivian.

"Ah," George cleared his throat, "yes…"

Alanna rolled her eyes. "To get it out of the way, who's in the car seat?"

Kel smiled at the Vice President of the Allied States of the Eastern Lands for her direct method of questioning. Leaning over and picking her up, Kel turned the sleeping Vivian so the others could see her.

Joren glanced down, the looked at the others. "George, Alanna, Miles, I'd like you to meet Vivian Kira Stone."

While George and Miles processed this, Alanna stood up and went over to where Kel was sitting. "She's adorable, Kel. How old is she?"

"A little over three months…" Kel smiled up Alanna. With the length of their missions, and the three in the room often the only three they spoke to while they were gone, they'd developed friendships with them.

"Well, welcome back to Corus, you two, and welcome to Corus for the first time, little Vivian," Alanna said, as she returned to her seat. Both Joren and Kel murmured their thanks.

George and Miles were finally able to speak. "Did you get the needed evidence?" Miles asked.

Joren nodded and pulled out several tapes from inside his leather jacket. Kel produced several disks of information from hers.

George and Miles grabbed them eagerly. "The Governor?" asked George.

"He's the leader…" Kel smiled as their eyes lit up.

George picked up the phone and hit a speed dial number, when the person answered, a short conversation ensured. No one said anything while George talked, though they tactfully didn't listen.

When his phone call was over, he turned back to Joren and Kel. "The president wants to have a meeting with you two."

"Um, George… do you think it could be in a week or so? We have a few things we need to take care of first…" Kel shrugged and looked down.

"Oh!" George looked at the child that Kel still held. "Of course! Um, a week from today, then?"

Joren and Kel nodded. "Lunch, sir?"

George rolled his eyes. "Of course, and no sirs!"

Alanna laughed. "I guess you two are going to need a new room arrangement, hum?"

Kel smiled. "Yeah, that would be best…"

"Well then, you'd best go see Wyldon, eh?" she said.

The two groaned. Wyldon Cavell. The master of the training academy. Also in charge of room arrangements for all officers who lived at head quarters.

"We'll see you then," Joren said, as they exited the room.

"I wonder if they'll take all of their time off this time…" George mumbled as they left. Alanna snickered.


	3. 2: Bare Walls and Not So GoodyTwoShoes

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce

**{A/N:** hello... again...

Morsus: For you, I have more details. I even have a little flash back at the end. Don't you love me?

Rowana Silvakisma: Thank you, and I'm updating!

**}**

Chapter 2: Bare Walls and Not So Goody-Two-Shoes

When Kel and Joren got to Wyldon's office, they found him out. His secretary told them he'd be back soon.

They sat outside his office, feeling more and more like they were back in the academy. When Vivian woke a cried to be fed, Joren took a bottle out and walked over to the elderly lady that was Wyldon's secretary. "Do you have a microwave?" he asked, politely for once in his life.

Startled, the lady nodded and pointed into the room behind her. When he came back out, he held the warm bottle to Kel.

As she was feeding Vivian, Wyldon returned.

At first, it seemed, he only saw Joren. "Joren! What can I do for you, come in, come in…" their old teacher said.

Joren nodded, picking up the bag and car seat. Kel stood and continued to feed Vivian.

"And who…" Wyldon stopped mid sentence. "Kel?"

Kel smiled at him. "Hello, sir…"

"Ah, yes, hello… Come in too, of course…" he eyed the small child in her arms, then looked back at Joren.

Finally he followed them into the office, and had them be seated.

Joren looked at Wyldon and nodded. "We need to talk about living arrangements." He looked over at Kel and Vivian.

Wyldon nodded. "An apartment, I presume?" he began to shuffle papers, then turned to his computer screen and started to tap on the keyboard.

"Yes, here's the information…" he printed something out. He handed the papers to Joren.

"Now, we'll need her information, and you'll need to fill out a insurance form… Here are some papers on the staff daycare…" he trailed off, looking at them. "You know, for the life of me, I never expected this."

Kel smiled and Joren snorted. "No one, including us, did," he told him. "But it happened… This is Vivian. Vivian Stone."

Wyldon nodded, having expected this. "Ah, Kel… Are you planning on services, or… Or anything?" he was at a loss of words.

Kel looked surprised. "Service?"

Wyldon nodded. "Um, you know, a wedding? Or something…"

Joren looked at Kel. Neither had thought of that, though many people would. "Um, no, not at the moment…" she bit her lip gently. "Maybe later… I just… I need to talk to my family, and…" she looked up.

Wyldon could see she was clearly overwhelmed. "Of course, there's no rush…"

Joren began to fill the forms out, and Kel looked over, giving him the answers that he didn't know. She gave Wyldon Vivian's ID certificate and he made copies for the files that would need them.

When they were finished, he stood, shaking Joren's hand with a slight smile. "No one would have thought that this," he motioned to Kel and Vivian, "would have happened, but then again, what could we expect, throwing you guys together for so long with out any contact with other people you knew? We'd have had to have expected something like this sometime…"

Kel laughed softly. "If you'd have told me that 21 months ago, I would have laughed in your face…" She smiled down at the now sleeping Vivian. "But she… She proves your point, I guess…"

Joren nodded, his face carefully blank. Since Vivian, Kel had lost her Yamani mask. She really did act like a new mother, happy, smiling…

Wyldon watched them. The way that they acted together, the way that they worked together. It was obvious something had changed. Before, thought they could work together unlike any other pair he knew, their was tension in it. Now, when they guess exactly what the other was going to do and acted at the same time, the tension was gone. They worked with each other like they had never been enemies…

Wyldon almost smiled at that, remembering when he had introduced Kel and Joren the first time. Kel had been eleven and was brand new to the academy. She was not the only girl, but the only girl to place so high in the fitness parts of the training. She had skipped the basics, where the other girls were.

When he had paired older kids with new kids, he had made the mistake of pairing her and Joren. Joren had been furious. "What the hell? How do you expect me to learn anything? Let alone teach! She's a girl! Send her back where she belongs, in basic!"

Kel had looked at him, her eyes curiously blank. "Maybe you should see what I can do first, before you pass that judgment," she had said quietly.

They had fought during that training session. Kel had beat Joren, two out of three times. Joren was indignant. "Lucky first day…" he'd spit out, before they left for academics. She was in a lot of his classes there, too.

Wyldon shook his head. Ever meeting had been like the first. Looking at the calm, relaxed pair now, he couldn't believe that they were the same people.

~*~

When they reached their room, Kel sighed at the bare walls. She would have to dip into her saving for things to go into this.

Joren watched Kel as she looked the apartment over. He didn't care whether the walls were plain white or if they had color. All he wanted was to have a place where the rest of the world would leave him alone.

Kel continued into the first door on the left, a small bedroom. She looked around, her eyes not seeing the empty room, but a tiny child's room, filled with the normal things a girl Vivian's age would have.

Joren stood in the door way and watched her. She was dreaming about what she would want there, he realized. She was seeing a room that she had always wanted for her daughter.

Joren had told himself he wanted a room away from the world. He then realized that Kel and Vivian weren't part of that world. He really did want them around him. If they had gone back to their old rooms, he knew that he would miss the warmth that he felt in the bed each night, and the small sounds that Vivian made. At first, when Kel had brought the small, wailing bundle of filth up to him, he couldn't believe that it was really human. He'd been right by her when she'd found her. The look in Kel's eyes, like she was going to kill… "Someone abandoned her…" her voice was steely. "I'll keep her. See that she never gets abandoned again."

Joren had wanted to say no. But the look on Kel's face, one of pure rage, made him only nod.

The first while, he ignored her. But as she grew, and as he and Kel fell into a routine concerning the small girl, he began to like her. Now, after almost three months, he felt that she was his. She was his to protect, his to love… And he did love her. She had wormed her way into his heart, with her ice blue eyes and small little hands.

Now, as Kel returned to the main room and explored the kitchen, he could only watch as the girl who was his partner, and the mother of the little girl he loved, looked around their new home.

When she opened the door to the next room, it was a bathroom. A door on the right side of it led into the master bedroom. Bigger than the room Vivian would have, but still tiny, Kel wondered if they even had a bed for themselves.

"We're gonna need a lot of furniture…" she looked at Joren.

He nodded. "We should bring all of the stuff we have in storage that we want up, get rid of the rest, and then go see what we can find today."

Kel nodded and left the bed room. As Vivian awoke, needing a diaper change, Joren left to get their bags from the SUV.

When he returned, Kel was laying on the floor next to a sleeping Vivian, humming a song that he could vaguely remember from his childhood. He smiled when Kel looked up and set the bags down in the bedroom.

When he returned, Kel had stood up and Vivian was now sleeping in her carrier. "Shall we?" he asked.

She nodded and smiled, and he grabbed the car seat from the floor, Kel grabbing the diaper bag. "We shall."

~*~

It was their first mission. They were leaving. They were needed in North Tortall, near Golden Lake City. They were needed to help get information on a drug lord who resided there.

Joren was still angry - and he would be for a while - but he had resigned himself to knowing that this was his new partner and he needed her- he needed a partner that would not turn on him, and would not compromise their position. Especially if they were going after drug lords, because they were notorious for killing those that crossed them.

And reporting to the Security Force and being on their pay roll was definitely crossing them.

When Kel showed up in the parking garage and moved towards a bike, Joren was shocked. He had expected a fit when she had found out that he owned one, that he wasn't about to go anywhere in a car… And now she had one?

She definitely wasn't the goody-two-shoes he'd thought she was.

When she glanced around, looking for him, her eyes lit up at the sight of his bike. Stepping from the shadows next to it, he'd smirked. "Like what you see?"

She'd nodded. "Hell yes… Your bike… It's great."

"Thanks," he murmured. "You ready?"

She'd tossed her hair behind her head and put on her helmet. "Are you?"

She'd flashed a grin, unusual for her, since she rarely showed emotion, and was out of the garage before he could start his bike.


	4. 3: Help Needed

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce

**{A/N:** Er, yes... I made a mistake in the prologue. Joren's old partner was Vinson, not Vincent as it turned out thanks to spell check... thanks for all the wonderful reviews!

Morsus: For you, I have more details. And more flashbacks! and bable away... I like it... lol

Rowana Silvakisma: Glad You liked the flashback, their fun to write!

ossini: Isn't_ any_ game fun when you win? Not just monopoly?

Queen's Own: Why thank you!

Fayr Warning: More flashbacks comin' up!

Fugitive: Why thank you... awsome and original. Why, I feel so special!

PsychoLioness13: Actually, I hadn't. Thank you. I spell names horribly wrong... I'll fix it in my copy and forever out wards shall spell it right!

**}**

**Chapter 3: Help Needed**

Kel and Joren stood in front of their storage lockers, eyeing the things inside. Neither had much. The beds had come with the apartments. Everything else was theirs, but because in the time that the two had owned their apartments, they'd both been gone a large portion of it. There was not need for much.

Now though, it looked like a ton of things. With a small child, they couldn't work together to move any of it. They'd have to find help.

With a sigh, Joren turned away from the storage units, scratching the back of his head. "Should we see where Neal and the others are at today?" Kel asked.

Joren closed his eyes, muttering something about idiots. Kel smiled knowingly. Though he might have hated the fact that she was female and in his classes, he had despised her friends. They were all overly energetic and never took anything serious.

As far as Joren was concerned, they were unfit to be Officers of the law. But then again, as long as they stayed out of his way, he'd been doing a pretty good job of ignoring them since he was twelve.

Finally, he nodded. "We probably should. Put them to work doing something, at least."

Kel laughed. "If you say so, Joren…"

They shut and locked the storage lockers and set off towards the offices, on his cell phone, Joren found out where Neal was stationed and who was in town from George.

Entering the offices, Joren, who was holding Vivian, led Kel to the third floor. As they were headed towards the elevator, a man walking by did a double take.

"Joren!" Domiton Masbelle grinned at the man who had made life miserable for his cousin (something he had congratulate the man on how well he did) and a good friend.

They had met through Kel, back when she and Joren had first become partners. Of course, he'd known of him for years, through the whining letters he was sent from Neal, the aforementioned cousin.

Upon meeting him, he'd found he almost liked the man, though he didn't know if he liked the views he held of Kel.

Kel and Dom were friends. They'd become friends over the four years of her field training required to become an Officer, especially one as high ranking as 'Knight', as the first class was dubbed. Dom had served under the man who had been her sponsor for her field Training, Raoul GoldenLake-Malorie.

Now, he had seen Joren. He saw Kel, too, and moved over to hug her. In the process of passing Joren to do so, he caught sight of what Joren held.

Dom was not a Knight, nor did he ever truly _want_ to be one. He liked his job as a King's Own, a name that had passed down from somewhere, and had stuck to the company. They were a rag-a-tag bunch of unique people, all of whom had some military training (if only some informal self-defense held at the local town hall).

But, all of Raoul's men were normally sharp, bright fellows. Why he over looked, or chosen to over look, the infant in her car seat, neither knew.

Peering down in to the carrier, Dom cooed at the slightly awake child. "Awwe, it's so cute…"

Kel looked at Joren, and shrugged her shoulders. "Joren and I," she told him, always one to use correct punctuality, which drove Joren up the wall sometime, "Are going to find your cousin and his friends… We need help moving furniture, as we're only two and can't leave Vivian alone…"

Dom's eyebrows rose. "And just who are Vivian's parents? I assume this is Vivian," he waved his arm at the child Joren carried.

Kel nodded at the second question. Joren answered the first. "Kel and I are."

Dom let a low whistle out between his front teeth. "Well I'll be damned. Someone has finally tamed you, Joren."

Kel let a small laugh out at that. Joren scowled. "I was never in need of taming, thank you."

Kel rolled her eyes, but Dom shook his head. "Don't you see? It's a conspiracy. Just watch. Within a year or so, she'll say something. You'll hop up and do what ever was implied in the statement. Next day, she'll be on the phone, telling all her friends your training's working. Just you watch," Dom grinned at them both, shaking his finger at Joren.

Joren's eyebrows had risen during Dom's rebuking speech. "If you say so, Dom…"

He nodded. "I do say so. Look at Neal. By the time he and Yuki had been going out three month, he'd do anything that she even _implied_ needed to be done."

Joren snorted. "And your cousin is a fool who I don't whish to be compared too."

Kel smacked him. "Careful Joren," she warned, a spark in her eye telling him he was in for it. She often said things he didn't want people to hear in front of those he knew, and who knew people he respected. Also known as Dom and the group of people he worked and hung out with. Kel glanced at Dom, winking before she continued. "You shouldn't insult my best friend. You don't want to be sleeping on the couch now, do you?"

Dom let out a guffaw, trying to hide it with a cough. Though what Dom and anyone else would think was implied wasn't, because no matter where he slept, she'd not give him a thing besides the comfort and warmth of having her body beside him through the night, no one else knew that, and if he knew Dom, and he did, many other's would as well by day's end.

As Dom calmed down, Joren shifted. "We should probably go get you cousin and the rest of the idiots," he fended off Kel's attack one armed and continued talking, "If we want to get anything into our apartment."

Dom nodded, his eyes still twinkling with mirth. "Care for an extra hand? I'm looking forward to my cousin's reaction to your living arrangements, such as they are, and Miss Vivian."

Kel grinned, and Joren groaned. If anything was more infamous at headquarters than Joren and Kel's arguments over, well, anything they decided to disagree on, it was Neal's protectiveness of Kel and anything concerning her. Joren sleeping in Kel's bed wasn't high on his list of good things. Joren seeing her with out clothes wasn't even near the list. Kel having Joren's child was pretty much number one on the list of things he never ever wanted to happen.

With that thought, they entered the elevator, the silver doors sliding closed behind them.

~*~

When Neal and Joren first met, it was before Kel was even around. Kel was still a young girl in her hometown, up in northern Tortall. Neal was the top physician in the Allied States of the Eastern Lands' only son. War in The Roof, the unlined northern state, had claimed his others.

Neal had determinedly left his private school and entered the academy late, to follow in their, and their father's, footsteps.

When he entered, Joren was already there. He had entered a year before Kel (and graduated a year after, Joren often pointed out) but it was good for a boy who was four years older than he should have been to start training and who had always been classified as a "bookworm" before. He'd had his brothers to fight, like one always did in the family, and he could do what he liked.

Still, when he was the only son, he'd gone to the academy. On his first day, he'd literally run into Joren and a buddy of his, the one who would become his first partner, Vinson Genlith.

It hadn't been a good first meeting, and to say the least, they hadn't liked each other much since. When Kel came into the picture, and because Neal's best friend, it had gotten even worse.

The bruises that Neal had acquired the day that Kel became his partner were lasting- he was laid up for week because of a rib he hurt.

Even now, years after having finally adjusted to the fact he was her partner for good, he didn't particularly like the guy.


	5. 4: How Does That Napkin Taste?

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce

**{A/N:** again, I made a mistake in the prologue. Joren's old partner was Vinson, not Vincent as it turned out thanks to spell check... thanks for all the wonderful reviews!

Morsus: as always, for you....

Rowana Silvakisma: Another daily post!

ossini: I guess it is complicated. And hard. And long. And fun....

carmel: Heh, I liked the idea too....

Fugitive: Yes, that last chapter, besides the flashback was all one scene, huh?

**}**

Chapter 4: How Does That Napkin Taste?

As the elevator doors slid open, a pair of brown eyes looked up. The woman watched, and a small gasp trailed from her mouth at the sight of the people leaving the elevator.

Fanche Weir was a woman of few surprises. But, as the woman in charge of the third floor, the one who knew who was where, when and who wasn't where, she'd never been expecting this.

Dom was walking with two people she'd thought were gone for a while. Though she could have been wrong, and they could have finished their job by now.

As she watched them walk by, her eyes roamed the man with Dom. Had she not been twenty years his senior and happily co-existing with another man at the moment, she'd have gone after him.

Joren Stone's blonde hair was shoulder length, and his ice blue eyes were cold. He wore black jeans, a black tee-shirt and a leather coat over his toned body. His face was a shade of white that only the fairest northerners had. His eyes were set in balanced perfection with his thin nose.

She could blame the girl next to him for ending up the way she did. She knew many of the female officers would have given their eye-teeth for a night with him. It appeared that Keladry Mindelan had gotten that, if not more.

The girl had mousy brown hair that hung mid way down her back, a change from all the years that Fanche had known her. It normally hung about chin length. Her eyes were hazel, flecked with gold. She was fit as any of the men in the service, and was almost six foot.

Joren was an inch or so taller, but the girl never seemed to look up at him. Her skin was freckled, a sure sign she'd been in the sun lately.

Dressed similar to her partner, she wore a pair of dark jeans, though a more feminine cut. He black tee-shirt clung a little more than she probably would have worn before this last mission. The black leather was just the topping on the cake, making her out to be something she wasn't.

Fanche knew she was a total softie for anything in need of a little mothering.

She shook her head as they walked away, noticing the carrier in Joren's hand and the bag slung of Kel's shoulder. She'd find out the story eventually.

~*~

None of the three even though to stop and ask where Neal and his friends would be. Since a majority of them didn't have a case at the moment, they'd be in the break room. Even those that did, would have probably moved anything they could there, so as to not miss any of the things that happened.

Leading Kel and Dom there, Joren stopped in the doorway. Kel moved past him and Dom looked in between them. As soon as Neal, who was speaking, noticed the figure's who'd just appeared, he stopped talking and ran at Kel.

"KEL!!" he cried, enveloping her in a hug.

After a minute, when Kel began to try and push Neal away, Joren rolled his eyes. "She needs to breath sometime soon, Queenscove," he told the other man dryly.

Releasing her slightly, he looked over her shoulder. "_I_ know that, Stone," he told him huffily.

He was going to continue, when he noticed what Joren was carrying. His eyes widened slightly. "Who let you babysit their child? You'll probably leave it somewhere!"

Both Joren and Kel rolled their eyes, though Dom laughed. "No one entrusted me to babysit," Joren told him, not bothering to explain.

Kel looked at him, then sighed. Obviously, he was going to make her tell her friends. She'd return the favor, and make him tell someone else. Mayhap the President, if he didn't know by the time they met next week.

"Why would you think he's babysitting, Neal?" she asked, walking into the room and setting the bag down. She began to hug the others, smiling at them.

Neal snorted from where he was still standing. "Well, let see… Because he isn't married… He's a cold, heartless government agent, and both of you are so into your work I doubt you met anyone that wasn't work related where ever you were."

Kel had made her way back to him. "Well, you right, we didn't meet anyone not work related."

"Surprise, surprise," muttered Faleron, who was now seated next to where she stood.

Faleron King was short, well built man who was just four days older then Kel. His brown hair and eyes made him attractive, enough so that he'd managed to marry.

Kel huffed. "And," she continued, "he's not married because we were gone, with out any contact, and how are you supposed to have a marriage with out family?" Kel snorted. "Plus, I leave him alone with Vivian all the time. He's a great father."

She glared at Neal, and his mind was turning, comprehending what she had just said. When he finally came upon what he thought was what she meant, he couldn't believe it. But one look at the grin on Dom's face confirmed what he'd been thinking.

"What?" his voice was low and steady, which amazed him. "She's obviously yours, if _you_ leave her with him, and you just said he's the child's father?"

Kel's eyebrow rose. "Um, yes, do I need to repeat myself?"

"No," said a droll voice. Prosper Tameran's voice. "I think we all get it just fine. He just needs a minute for it to sink in, then he'll explode. I'd set the child down, Joren. He wont think of her, just that you and Kel actually sleep in the same bed, obviously with out clothing."

Joren's face almost broke into a grin, though he did hand Vivian to Dom. Just in time, it seemed, because Neal launched himself at Joren.

Joren sighed as he pushed him away from him. Merric and Cleon moved behind Neal and grabbed him, dragging him back to a chair and making him sit down. When they let go, he made to go after Joren again, but they grabbed him again. Owen walked up and flicked him in the forehead. "Calm down Neal," he grinned. "You're an Uncle!"

Joren growled. "No way is my daughter calling _him_ an Uncle."

Kel rolled her eyes. "Yes she is, now be quiet before you alienate our free help."

"Free Help?" asked Sever. He was the only one who was actually working. Roald was gone, he'd been home for awhile now. His mother was trying to set him up with the visiting niece of the governor of the Yamani Isles state.

Kel nodded. "We need some help getting our stuff from storage up to the apartment."

"Apartment!?" Neal yelled. "You're living with him?" Owen stuffed a napkin into his mouth at the end of the sentence.

Kel nodded at Neal and Joren laughed. "She was talking about why we weren't married a few minutes ago. Now you're freaking out about us living together?"

Kel sighed. Joren was a pain in the ass. But she needed him. Ignoring Neal's struggles against the napkin, Kel wondered for the hundredth time why she hadn't turned Vivian over to the officials. She loved the little girl, but she was causing a lot of turmoil in her life, especially considering that she had gotten false records for her, saying that she and Joren were her parents. They were, of course, now. But she hadn't given birth to the girl. And Kel never wanted her to see her birth mom. And according to the law, they'd have to find the birth mom for Kel to adopt her.

Kel knew it was simpler to just do what she did, but she still wished she could just explain to everyone what was going on. But she couldn't. For Vivian's sake, and for her own and Joren's.

And with the way that Joren was behaving, he knew too that since he'd gone along with this from the beginning that he would be an accessory to the fact. In other words, he was just as guilty as she was.

Kel shook her head, coming out of her reverie just in time for Faleron to nod. "I'll come, but let me call Lalasa-"

"Lalasa?" Joren questioned. "The one that tried to keep us out of George's office?"

Faleron groaned. "She didn't?"

Kel laughed, "She did."

"Well, I guess… I mean, she doesn't know what you two look like… and she was only filling in for her Aunt for the day…" Faleron tried to explain.

Everyone knew that Joren and Kel saw George the minute they needed too. They usually never had to wait. Salma Aynnar, George's normal secretary knew they wouldn't listen unless she said he was with the President. And she didn't try that one unless it was true, because if it wasn't they'd never listen to her again.

Kel laughed at Faleron's expense. "Call her, and tell her I forgive her."

The others, save Neal who was spitting out parts of napkin, laughed.

~*~

Two hours later, Kel and Joren were alone again. Vivian lay sleeping in her portable crib in her room, and Kel was opening boxes. She'd just finished putting the dishes that she'd had into the cupboard. As she opened a box with the word "kitchen" on it in Joren's hand writing, all she found was Tupperware.

"Joren! I can't believe this is all you had!" she scolded as he came out of the bedroom with a bunch of boxes.

He shrugged. "We were never home long enough to need real stuff…"

Kel rolled her eyes. "Well, the stuff I had will do."

Joren nodded and looked around, scratching the back of his head. "So, what to we need?"

"Well," Kel grinned. "Stuff for our room. A crib. Changing table… Probably some more baby stuff, but not too much because as soon as my family knows about her we'll get plenty of gifts.

"The couches, though mismatched, will do. So will your TV," she said, awe in her voice as she looked at the flat, top of the live Holo Screen TV.

Joren laughed. "Yeah, and the stereo," he reminded her. She nodded.

As Kel went and got Vivian, Joren looked at the kitchen stuff. She did have enough dishes, but only two pans and a pot. The glass supply was low, they'd need a highchair and a table. Single rooms had bars, but apartments had room for tables, considering those who lived in them mostly had families.

As the three walked down the hall towards the exit of the building, Joren contemplated that. Families. Yes, they were his family. He smiled. It was a nice feeling, to have one of those again.

~*~

A fifteen-year-old Joren Stone sat against a tree, whittling something out of the wood he was working with. Across the courtyard of the academy, he saw a familiar figure walk out of the building. Keladry.

"What, Lump, your family doesn't want you so you can't go home?" he sneered at her.

She looked at him, and shrugged. "We can't afford to bring me home at the holidays. What about you?"

Her voice was pleasant, calm. It always was, no matter how bad he treated her. Joren stared at her for a few minutes, as she threw bread crumbs to the ducks in the pond. She did that everyday.

Finally he answered. "I don't have a family."

She looked up at him. Where he expected pity, he found compassion. She didn't say she was sorry, she just nodded. "It's tuff, huh? Staying at school while all of your friends go home to their rich mommies and daddies?"

Her voice held emotion now. Bitterness. Joren looked at her a little closer. "Yeah," he said.

"I'm here on a scholarship, not because my mom and dad sent me here. All of my siblings go to the town's public schools, and all of my older one's went to the college in Blue Harbor, which is in out county," she told him, sighing.

Joren, for once, didn't use the information to hurt her. He just nodded. She sat down next to him, when her bread was gone.

The school was oddly quiet, now at midwinter. The air felt like snow. Neither knew why they didn't have snow, because they normally had it by now.

When they left to go back to their rooms, neither spoke. When they saw each other later that week, Joren had returned to himself.

Kel had known he would. But it was nice to have the memory of his companionship to hold onto when he was nasty.

She knew their was a person inside.


	6. 5: When Do You Want To Meet Your Gra

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce 

{AN and such at the bottom from now on... makes more sense I think...}

Chapter 5: When Do You Want To Meet Your Grandchild?

Joren really didn't know why he was here. For all that she consulted him, it didn't really matter, because he didn't really care what they got. Before setting out on the dangerous adventure that shopping was, they'd stopped at the bank and Kel had transferred money from her account to his. He would be paying for all of this, but with half her money.

As Kel finally decided which she liked better for Vivian's things, Whinnie the Pooh or teddy bears, Joren's cell rang.

"Hello?" he answered, sounding bored.

"Hello, Joren… How are you? I hear your back in town…" a smooth voice said.

Joren's brow creased. "Yeah, I am. Why are you calling?" he asked as he moved away from Kel. She glanced up when his voice became hard, her eyes slightly worried, but went back to doing what she was doing. He'd tell her when she needed to know what was happening.

As she finished getting the stuff for Vivian's crib, she picked started to look at toys. They'd already picked out a crib and highchair, which one of the store employees had taken to the front so that she didn't have to carry them around.

She got a few things, and then moved on to get more bottles and then she saw it.

A baby swing.

She was looking at it, contemplating, when Joren found her. "She could actually use something to sit in besides that damn carrier," he told her. She grinned.

Yup, Vivian was in for it. She was going to be spoiled.

~*~

It was eight before they got home. Kel took Vivian and a few bags upstairs, while Joren took two trips to get the rest up.

While she was bathing Vivian, Joren came into the bathroom and smiled. "I'll go get the bed, and take the trailer for the rest…" the bedroom set that they'd settled on was two big to fit in their car with the stuff they already had.

Kel nodded, pausing a minute to look up at him. She smiled, then went back to what she was doing.

Leaning down, Joren kissed Vivian's brow, then, after a moment's hesitation, Kel's.

When he'd walked out the door, Kel sighed. "Your daddy's getting to me, baby…" she told the infant in her arms.

Vivian just looked up at her with purest blue eyes, and made a sound before blowing a snot bubble.

"Silly girl," Kel murmured, wiping the little girl's face.

~*~

Joren actually felt bad for lying to Kel, but she didn't need to know that he wasn't just going to pick up the bed. As soon as he got it, instead of turning back the way he came, he went to another part of the city.

Parking, he got out and locked the car, moving into the dreary building.

"I'm surprised you came, Joren," the silky voice said.

"Oh shove it, Stenmun. What do you want?" Joren told the dark figure angrily. "I don't have time for this."

The man seemed surprised. "Don't have time? When has Joren Stone not had time for me."

"I don't now. What. Do. You. Want?" Joren said, spacing the words.

"I want your business, of course," the man said laughingly.

"Well, I don't owe you a thing and I'm done. Never again, Stenmun. Never. Do you hear me? And I don't _ever_ want to hear of you near my fiancé or my child." Joren didn't stop to think about what he'd just referred to Kel as. It was as close as he could come to describing her in as few of words as he wanted.

The man was stopped short. Joren, with a family? "Well, well, well… You've finally gotten yourself a woman."

Joren glowered at the man. "Yes, and I'm _done_. Do you hear me? I'm _done_ with you. I'm not coming back, and I owe you nothing." With that, he turned on his heal and left.

~*~

Kel was relaxing in the bathtub when she heard the lock turn and the door open. She smiled as Joren called for her.

"In the bathroom," she called, not bothering to open her eyes.

Joren entered the room, looking down at her. She was in the tub, bubbles surrounding her, smiling softly. She looked content there, and happy.

When he'd walked in, he'd noticed that the table they'd gotten had been put together and the baby swing was up. Backing out of the bathroom, he noticed that the baby's room, the door almost shut and the light off, was put together as well.

When he returned to the bathroom and kneeled down next to her, she opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Hey," she said softly, "You get everything okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I did… I brought a load up, but I'll have to get some help for the rest."

Kel bit her lip. She didn't really want to leave Vivian alone, even for a minute. She'd heard all of those horror stories of how child, left unattended for minutes, could bring themselves to their deaths.

Joren sighed, knowing she'd think of the same things he did. "Who should I call?" he asked, brushing a few errant hairs from her face.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Someone you're friends…" she trailed off at a knock on the door.

Joren stood, shutting the bathroom door behind him as he went to the door. Opening it, he was looking into the face of an old buddy of his, Quasim Zirhund. After exchanging greetings, he invited him in, then excused himself to go talk to Kel.

Leaning on the doorframe between their room and the bathroom, Joren stared at her until she looked up.

Feeling his eyes on her, she looked, raised an eyebrow, then closed her eyes again. "Yeah?" she asked, shifting slightly.

"Quasim's here," he told her. "I'm gonna see if he'll help."

Kel nodded, and yawned. "Sorry," she muttered.

Joren nodded. "Do you need anything?" he asked, something he'd actually never done before. In all the years that she'd known him, Joren hadn't asked _anyone_ if they needed anything in front of her. He'd always been focused on himself, and she'd never really seen him think of somebody else, until Vivian.

"Uh, actually," she smiled, "could you bring me the phone?"

He nodded and moved into the bedroom, returning with the cordless from there. "That all?" he asked as he set it on floor next to her.

She nodded. "I already have the baby monitor…" She smiled at him.

He smiled back and returned to the living room. Quasim looked up as he entered and shook his head. "Man, Joren… I thought you'd be the last to get hitched. I mean… You're really not the nicest guy to most people." He grinned.

Joren laughed. "Yeah, well… When you see someone everyday and they're the only one you know and trust, you get to know them pretty well. And when they're all you see for a long while, and you live together, and stuff…" He shrugged. "It just happened, you know?"

Quasim nodded. "Yeah. Well, no, not personally, but yeah, I get what you mean."

Joren grinned. "Hey, you busy for the next while?"

Quasim looked at him, then shook his head. "Nah…"

"Think you could help me, then?" Joren stood, followed by Quasim.

"With what?" he asked, as they left the room.

Kel heard them leave, and relaxed back into her bath. She knew Quasim, kind of. She didn't know him really well, but she knew him well enough to know he and Joren were friends.

That didn't surprise her. The few people that Joren liked all liked bikes. And it was because of Quasim that she liked bikes. Though they'd never really gotten to know each other, he'd gotten her into bikes and helped her pick out hers.

Picking up the phone, Kel dialed the familiar number.

It rang three times before someone picked up. "Hello?" asked a harried voice.

"Mom! It's Kel, how are you?" Kel smiled and relaxed into the tub.

"Kel? Well, isn't this a surprise! I'm good, how're you?"

"I'm good, Mom… How's everyone else?"

"Fine! Adalia had her second child, and Oranie's pregnant now… Patricine's still got her two, though I think she's expecting."

Kel sighed. Her family was large. With three older sisters and three older brothers, and only one not married, their were plenty of kids.

"And the boy's kids?"

"Ander's still has his five… And Inness has two now. Conal still as single as ever."

Kel shook her head. Her oldest sibling was Anders, who had been in the service, but was relieved of his duty because of an injury he'd never recover from. He was almost eighteen years older then her, followed by Patricine, Inness, Adalia, Conal and then Oranie. Kel was four years younger than her youngest sibling.

"Well, the house must be full then."

"Yes, yes, of course." She could hear the smile in her mother's voice. "And when will we see you again?"

"Soon, I hope Mom. It's been a long time. Two missions now."

"Yes… We'd all love to see you."

"All of you?"

"All of us," he mother's voice was firm. Kel knew she understood. Her sister-in-law, Amiria, Inness' wife, was not nice. In fact, she was a shrew. She complained horrendously, especially about Kel. She saw Kel as a monstrous thing that would infect her daughters with the want to serve her country, no matter that she was one of hundreds, if not thousands of girls who did.

"So, Kel…" Kel squirmed, despite her mother not being there. She knew that tone. "When are we going to see grandchildren from you?"

"Well," Kel stopped and cleared her throat. "When would you like to meet her? Two weeks sound okay?"

There was no reply, and then a shriek. "What's her name? What's she look like? Kel! Why didn't you say something at the start of this?"

In the background, she could hear her mother telling her father of the fact that Kel was now a mother. Kel could hear her father's merry laugh.

When her mother returned, Kel answered her questions on Vivian the best she could. When the questions turned towards Joren, she was a little more elusive.

"You know my partner, Joren?"

"Yes, the one who likes bikes as much as you?"

"Yeah, him. Well, he… He's her father. We decided to wait for marriage when Vivian came along, especially because we had no contact with you…"

When her mother told her father who the father was, she heard the phone get put down. When her mother picked it up again, her voice was strained, worried.

"Kel, do you know who Joren's parents are? Has he told them?"

"No, his parents are dead… Why?"

Her mother sighed. "Because… I don't know if you'll remember this. It was just about the time that we we're leaving to move to Yamani to stay with Great-Grand-Mum…"

"What is it Mom?" Kel had sat up now, worried about Joren.

"Well, this little boy… His name was Joren Stone. He was the only witness to a murder…"

Kel waited, holding her breath for her mother to finish.

"The murder… The murder of his mother. His father killed her."

~*~

He was small, pale. His blue eyes were cool, but they were still being formed by fate. It wouldn't be until later that his eyes would take on their icey chill and that he would become a stone, set in the ways of his patterns.

He watched all of the people, his eyes waiting for the one he wanted to see, his mother…

But she never came. The six year old knew, deep down, that she wouldn't. When he explained what he saw the Officers, they looked sad, and told him everything would be okay.

But he didn't understand. When a priest from the temple of Mithros came, he explained to him about the Black God. Joren knew this was all a fairy-tale. Few people still thought about death in the forms of gods, but more so as a fact of life. The gods were no longer important, as religion became a household thing, not a community thing, or a country thing.

He would understand later, why this was. Because of so many people, believing in so many things… And the difference of how they traveled.

But now, he was just a little scared boy who's mother was never coming back and his father was to be killed.

Of course, no one told him that.

Once he was released from the hospital, where they'd taken him so they could keep and eye on him, he was sent to a boarding school. When he turned ten, he'd be allowed to pick the Service over University.

When he had spent a month there, listening to all of the other kids complain about their parents, he made a vow with himself.

He would never leave a child parentless.

He would be there for his child, and he would be there for any other child that needed him.

**{A/N:** Hello! Hello! Is this helping anyone understand why Joren is acting so... Un-Joren like? I hope so! I love this story. It's just caught me. I'm hoping to write more again tonight and tomorrow and post again! Oh yes, and the mention of her third sister is on page 124 of Page, by the way. She's no-existent everywhere else, and so yeah... I'm re-reading Page, saw that... heh.

And I know, I updated early... so I'll reply to any reviews for last chapter in this as well. I love reviews. Of course I reply, if only with a "thanks!"

Morsus: *shudders at the thought of grammer* I hate it. I like word because it helps, but I hate it because it's spell check messes up names... lol. but yes.

PsychoLioness13: Neal is SOOOO fun to write. He's dramatic. He's lively. And you can make him have tempertantrums and no one notices because he's always throwing a fit about something. And you can turn people you hate into road kill with his mouth. I mean, he's so instinctive. With everyone else you have to think "now how would they react" but with Neal you can just write and boom, first thing you think of, is what Neal can say.

Fayr Warning: I love updating regularly too. It's fun! And I'm trying. I hope this chapter helped... It'll be discussed next chapter by Joren and Kel.  


**}**


	7. 6: Victim

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce 

Chapter 6: Victim

Kel couldn't believe her ears. He'd witnessed his mother's death? Well, no wonder he was so stiff.

Sighing, she pulled herself out of the tub. The rest of her conversation with her mother had been brief. She'd promised to call the next day once she'd talked the date over with Joren.

After she'd dried off and pulled on a tee-shirt and pajama pants, she moved into the bedroom. The bed had been built, but the sheets weren't on it. She quickly set about making the bed.

Moving all of the boxes to a corner and putting all of the garbage in one, she admired her work. Of course the men had put it together, but she'd cleaned up after them.

A small cry alerted her to the fact that Vivian was no longer sleeping. Moving into the main room, she nodded to Quasim and almost collided with Joren as he brought Viv out.

Joren smiled at her. "She's hungry, I think."

Kel hesitantly smiled back. "Probably."

Turning away, she moved to make the bottle. As she did, she could hear Quasim get up and Joren and him talk. She kept her back turned to them, her mind still on the conversation with her mom.

It was now past eleven. As Quasim left, he told her he was happy for her. She smiled at him and thanked him, telling him to give her regards to the rest of the Own.

He assured her he would. Joren entered the kitchen after locking the door and took the ready bottle from Kel.

"I'm off to bed. Come in when you done feeding her?" she asked.

Joren nodded. Moving to the bathroom, Kel sighed. She'd have to talk to him tonight, because she was tense now. If she waited, she'd never ask.

She was just finishing brushing her teeth when Joren came in. As she left, she closed the door half way to allow her to change into the boxers and tee she wore to bed. Just as she'd pulled the cover's back on her side, Joren entered the room.

Stripping down to his boxer's, he turned the overhead light off and set the baby monitor on the night stand before getting into bed.

Kel watched him as she lay there, her eyes following every movement.

When Joren noticed her stare, he raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"My mom invited us up to Dimon for a while. I told her we'd come in two weeks or so, if you wanted." She was still looking at him the same way.

"How would we get there? Drive?" he settled his head on his arm, facing her.

She shook her head. "It's easier to take a train. There's enough people at our house to give us rides if we need to go anywhere."

He nodded. "Huh… Well, if HQ says it's okay, we probably should, right? I mean, your parents must be pretty pissed about having Vivian and us not being married."

She shook her head the best she could. "No, actually, their thrilled I finally gave them a grandchild. They had a few questions about you though."

She could see him stiffen. "Why didn't you tell me, Joren? I mean, I know before, we weren't friends, we didn't trust each other, or anything... But now? Since Vivian?"

Joren sighed and rolled onto his back. "Because. I didn't want you to… To think I might… I might be like him."

Kel sighed, and reached over tentatively to touch his arm. "Joren…"

"No, not to night Kel. You'll have nightmares. I don't want to give you nightmares…" He looked at her, his eyes pleading. She knew he didn't want them either.

Because his would be a lot more real.

They both had them anyway.

---

He watched, careful not to make a sound. If he made a sound while daddy was hitting mommy, he'd hit him too. So he stared around the corner, and under the arm of the chair.

He wanted to make sure his dad wasn't going to hurt her too bad.

When his dad did that, he went and called the hospital, and told them that his mother was going to be coming in, that she'd fallen down.

That's what his mother told him to say.

Now, his father was yelling louder than he ever had before. And the smell of liquor, that awful stench of layer after layer of alcohol, wasn't there. Not only wasn't it not there, but his dad was here and it was the middle of the day.

Normally, his dad was only home when it was dark out. He knew that when it got dark, he needed to be quiet.

Only this time, when he crept away to call, he heard a scream. He moved forward again. And he saw his father pull a gun.

He knew what guns did. His friend's dad was an officer of the law, and he showed him it and told him he should never touch one. If he saw someone with one, he should run away.

"Even the Officers?" he'd asked.

His friend's dad told him that if and officer had his weapon out, he should run away. Usually someone bad was around then.

Now though, he couldn't run away. No, his mom would need him, when his dad was done hurting her. Hopefully he'd storm out of the house like always.

Thinking of his friend's dad, he moved back and dialed his friend's number. When his friend's mother answered, he told her his father had a gun. He was waving it around.

His friend's mother said to hide and she'd call for help.

When he finally crept back out and watched what was happening, his father had pointed the gun at his mother's shoulder. When he shot it, more blood than the six-year-old had ever seen sprayed out. His father and mother were covered in it. The rug and the couch and the table and the chair and the ceiling and the walls had it all over.

He'd have to ask his friend's dad where it all came from.

His mother was screaming now, holding her shoulder. He knew she was in a lot of pain now, because she normally took whatever she got with out a sound.

His dad was yelling even louder. He could hear people outside yelling and sirens in the background. He ducked as his father spun around and yelled something. When he dared to look again, his mother was being shaken like a rag doll.

His father's face was purple in rage, and the blood was still poring out of the gun wound. But now her mouth and nose were bleeding. He never had known both could bleed at the same time.

When he heard the crack!_ he didn't know what it was. Later he would learn that it was the sound of a neck breaking. His mother was dead now._

The doctors never really knew if she had died from blood loss or because of the snapped neck. And if they did, no one told the little boy.

When the officers yelled something about them being surrounded and to come out with their hands up, he was all for it. Except his father didn't know he was there. Or at least he didn't think so.

When the officers finally got his father, someone came and got him from his place in the hall.

When his father saw him, he started yelling again, telling him he'd end up like his mother if he ever said a word.

He told the officer's anyway, because they said it would help his mom. That it would bring her justice.

The Hospital staff id'd him as the one who always called in about his mother being hurt. They told the officers about all of the injuries.

He told them his mother always said to say she fell down. But he guessed he could tell them that his father had hit her and hurt her. That she was graceful, like a cat and never fell if her father hadn't hit her to make her.

When his father was sentenced, he didn't know what it meant. Lethal injection. He didn't know it meant that five months after his mother died his father died too.

He didn't know that their justice system worked fast on cases like these. And this trial had brought public notice, so they sped up the death sentence.

He didn't know it, that day, when his father died. When he asked about him almost a year later, they told him.

_He understood justice then. He felt the surge of welcome for the news. He knew what any victims family felt when their told that the person who committed the crime was gone forever._

_They just didn't know what it was like to be him._

**{A/N:** Okay... So, help with the Joren... maybe? Too much? To fast? To detailed? I don't know, you tell me. See the little blue/violet/aqua/everyone-else-needs-to see-the-eye-doctor color box in the corner down there? /points/ it says review, which means you can tell me! See, it works out for all of us!

Earth-angel666: Heh, I liked that too. I liked the Neal part, ya know? He needed the gag and everyone needed to see that.

Imperfectionist ;D: /grins/ yeah, well, I just pounded this chapter out after ten! whoo who! Late night for Kwen!

PsychoLioness13: Yeah. But I'm going to make it very clear that this mother doesn't care how they come, she just wants her grandchildren (at least one per her children) and now Kel's off the hook and only Conal can be picked on. And I like the italics. Because they tell you something about the characters and why they're shaped the way they are in my mind...

Rowana: Heh, and I love the regular reviews. I don't even have to beg in this story. Ya'll are so nice!

ossini: /hands more/

dracorium: I made it better, see? /points up/

jewlz555: Why thank you! /smile/

**}**


	8. 7: Mission

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce 

Chapter 7: Mission

Both were dressed in their best, Kel a black skirt and a pale blue top and Joren, as always, in all black. Taking one last deep breath, Kel stepped away from the room which she was leaving Vivian in and moved across the hall.

It wasn't that she didn't feel that Alianne couldn't take care of her, because she knew that she could, but she didn't want to leave her and in all reality, she knew that too was just an excuse.

Neither she, nor Joren, wanted to face the president and tell him that they had found that his cousin, the governor of Galla, was treasonous and was the head of the child labor ring.

But they had too. Steeling herself, Kel followed Joren into the room. Taking a seat beside him, Kel smiled and nodded her head to the president.

"Jon, this is Joren Stone and Keladry Mindelan, soon to be Stone?" George winked at her. Kel smiled weakly and Joren nodded. "Kel, Joren, this is President Jonathan Contè."

Standing up, Joren shook the President's hand. "Hello…" he sat again.

Kel stood and shook his hand as well. "Thank you for taking the time to talk to us…"

Jon smiled and sat as well. "No, thank you. I hear you've had a busy week, trying to sort out work and taking care of your daughter… Vivian? Is that what Alanna called her?" His sapphire eyes twinkled gently.

Kel's eyes widened as she nodded. Joren shot an accusing look at George. "Yes, sir, that's her name…" Kel spoke softly.

Jon nodded. "Well, I'm grateful for you taking the time to tell me what you learned. I reviewed the evidence you brought, and I'm afraid it looks bad." The president stopped and sighed, but everyone knew he was going to continue. He was one of those people you could just tell with.

"Roger has always been up to something. He wants to rule badly, but he hasn't the support for more than Governor. And with this…" Jon sighed, again.

"Tell me what you saw?" he asked.

They nodded.

----

Like any other mission, they pretended to be a couple. No one questioned couples whispering to each other, no one questioned them staying secluded. No one questioned their weird quirks and habits.

They were to find the people who ran this and figure out how it worked. It wasn't going to be easy, and they'd need the whole 21 months they'd been given.

Kel though, wished they could do it in less. Because she wanted to stop this, bad. Who wanted to allow people who steal children to stay free?

They started off trailing people who worked as they kidnappers. Then their bosses. Soon they could trail the whole progress. They never left Galla, though they knew where who went.

They always rescued those deemed to weak to continue and left to starve along the way.

They made their way into the circle of friends that they underlords held. The underlords. That's what they called Governor Cont's men- the one's who reported back to him.

They found out who the leader was- a tall man named Maggur. He was nasty, he didn't like children and he treated them worse than maggots.

They watched, enraged as he beat them, killed some, and sent the rest off to the mines.

The whole time they collected evidence.

Then, eighteen months into this, when they were trailing a group of children bound for the mines, they came to one of the rest stops. And there, in the filth of a garbage pile that appeared used for many groups, lay a squalling ball of filth.

Kel had seen red. Who could leave a child here, in this... place?

Joren had pointed out that the children had been with their captives probably for a good while. The girl was less than a month old, maybe a few weeks. A child was her real mother.

Kel had vowed that this girl wouldn't be abandoned again.

And Joren remembered his promise, the vow he'd made when he was six.

For the next two and half months, they found out how hard it was to care for and infant.

At first Joren had tried to keep his distance, not wanting to be near the child. He didn't want a relationship with her.

But as the weeks wore on, Kel saw him change. Every time she cried or gurgled, Kel could see the barrier in him breaking down. Every time she looked in to his eyes, Kel could see him warming up.

And slowly, he started to care. And slowly, he came out of his icey shell and started to laugh and joke, even.

And as their time came to an end, they had collected enough evidence to revenge Vivian and her mother, and all the other children. They could bring down the monsters who would take children from their families and make them work for a little food.

The footage and documents said everything. The number of kids they'd seen, their conditions, who paid who for what and when. Who reported to who.

Who got in trouble when things went a rye and who was in charge.

Governor Roger Contè, the presidents cousin.

He'd hang for high treason if they had anything to say about it.

----

Kel thought back to the meeting and the hectic week that followed. They wrote reports, which they hadn't written until after talking to the president, and they began to pack for a two week trip. They contacted everyone who needed to know, and said another set of farewells.

Now, sitting on a train, half way from Corus to Domin, she wondered if they had done the right thing by Vivian. She sighed and stared at the dark trees. She didn't know. She couldn't.

Joren watched her, and sighed, leaning against his palm, propped up by the arm rest. Vivian's carrier was in the seat across from him, directly in front, and Kel next to him.

Touching her arm, Joren brought her back to the present.

"You know," he said, drawling his voice out, "your mom was right… about me, I mean." He told her, clarifying because of the curious look she gave him.

Kel moved her hand onto his. "I know."

He raised an eyebrow. "I could see it, when I asked… I just knew."

He nodded. After awhile, he spoke. "I never knew, when he died… They never told me until over a year later."

Kel looked at him.

"I put him there, in the chair. It was my word that did it." He sighed.

Kel pat his arm. "My word, and your word, has put plenty more folks there… A few more to come, hopefully."

At the comparison to that, Joren smiled ruefully. "I guess he did anything as bad as they did. And if they deserved it, he did too…" He sighed. "I just sometimes wonder if I'll turn out like him, you know?"

Kel nodded, shifting until Joren was sitting up again and she was leaning against him. "But I'm nothing like either of my parents. Sure, my dad was an officer, as are my brothers, but they all went to Blue Harbor instead of here… They're all good officers, but all of them work it as side jobs, and know everyone in the entire county anyways."

Joren nodded. "I know, it's still… It's troubling. 'The apple never falls far from the tree,'" he quoted.

"Well this apple musta been sour," Kel said, raising an eyebrow. Joren laughed.

**{A/N:** Humm dee dum. There ya'll go. Some of the missing 21 months! More will come, spurts of little detail about it... /smiles/

Mystery Princess: /smiles/ thanks for the review! I'm updating daily, so you're not gonna have to beg much!

Sabrina: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I love to write, and it makes it worth it (besides the fact your getting the characters to lay off you for a little bit /grins/) when people enjoy it!

Queen's Own: Yeah, Joren and Kel are funner. lol. And no worries, I like reviews every chapter (what writer doesn't) but I take them as they come. Any are good.

Imperfectionist ;D: thank you! thank you! I loved your review! And I know, I don't give detail hangs head everyone yells at me for that. But I can't! I, for some reason, like to let others do that. I try though, so people get an idea of who's who... and I'm glad how I write is unique! that means people will read because it's different (or maybe it's they won't because it is?) I don't know.

Lady Page: why thank you.

candy: it shouldn't be. I mean, yeah, I guess that last part was... but I'm trying to make this... a.. a ... story. not really a romance (they're together already.. kinda) But a trial and error story. A story of survival.

Eclipsa: Yeah, it does jump around. maybe that last flash back helped?

ossini: /grins/ of course there will be, I just have to get there.

jewlz555: it's always sad when you want it the most, right?

Lady of Masbolle: K/D is fine! I like them. I just like to write K/J. blame Sulia Serafine.

Earth-angel666: /pats back/ it's okay. Joren's fine! See!

**}**


	9. 8: Meet the Kids

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce 

Chapter 8: Meet the Kids

When the train pulled into the station, Joren was the only one awake. Kel sat curled into him, her head on his shoulder and his arm around her, holding her close. Vivian lay in his lap, his other arm supporting her.

Gently, he shook Kel awake. "Hey, Kel… Kel? We're here…"

Kel slowly came too, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Glancing out the window, she stood up quickly and grabbed their things from the shelves above the seat. "Gods, I'm sorry Joren. I didn't mean to fall asleep…"

She looked guilty enough to make Joren laugh as he secured Vivian into her carrier. "Don't worry, Kel… You needed the sleep. It's only 7:50 anyway," he looked out the window at the rising sun.

As they shuffled to the door and off the train, Kel glanced around, looking for someone from her family. Her mother had promised her that someone would be there to pick her up.

Seeing no one for the moment, she set down the bags she was carrying and stood near a bench. Joren set the bags he was carrying down and stood next to her.

He'd seen a photo of her family once, but didn't know who was who and didn't know who was coming to pick them up. As they stood their, Kel looked over at him. "Sorry about this. Mom promised someone would be here… Just like them to forget to come pick me up…"

Five minutes later, a man stood with Kel, enveloping her in a hug. "Kel! It's been forever! How are you?" the man asked.

Kel laughed. "I'm fine, Inness. How are you?"

"Good, good. And who's this?" he asked, looking down at the sleeping Vivian.

"Vivian Kira Stone," Joren told him, looking Kel's brother over.

Kel smiled at Joren before looking back at Inness. "My daughter."

Inness laughed. "Well, Kel, I never expected this. I knew something was up - mother was acting strange. But this? Now, this, I never expected."

Kel rolled her eyes. "Inness, meet my fiancé, Joren Stone."

Inness eyed the man in front of him. Tall, blond haired, blue eyed and quiet. "I've heard a lot about you, though Kel. Nice to meet you," he finally said, holding his hand out.

Joren shook it. "You too."

They picked up the bags, taking them to the family's station wagon. Joren rode shot gun to Inness, Kel in the back with Vivian.

As they drove from the southern edge of the town where the train station was located to the northwestern edge of the town, where the Mindelan clan was, Kel pointed out various points of interest - the post office, the superMarket, the Doctor/Vet office, the WalMart SuperStore® and the library/museum/city hall building.

In other words, she pointed out the whole town. The rest was made up of little stores with people living over them and houses. Just blocks from the center of the city, horses grazed in fields. Five minutes after getting into the car (okay, maybe ten) they pulled up in front of an old house. Fields surrounded it.

"This is my mother and fathers house…" Kel smiled as they unloaded the car. Pointing to the closest house to the right she said, "And that's Ander's house. Farther down is Conal's house. He still lives here for now. Inness's is to the left," she waved a hand in that direction. A corpse of tree's blocked their view.

"Patricine, Adalia and Oraine all live either in another part of the town or a ways away. Adalia lives down in Golden Lake County, on the Nond Place. But Patricine is a town over and Oraine lives on her husband's family's land on the east edge of town," Inness told him.

Joren looked around him, amazed. He had taken a step out of their time period and back a few centuries. Sure, they had cars. They probably had computers, cell phones… But gods, these people still kept their children close, on their own land. He was amazed that they even had let Kel go to the Academy in Corus.

He sighed, thing _it's better than were you come from, though_. He knew he was right. He'd been born into a community of apartments, where the only living arrangements for miles were apartments. They all worked in the city, in Port Caynn. In the factories, the markets, the businesses. Everyone of them under paid and poor.

As he and Inness carried the bags, Kel carried Vivian, who had woken. Before Inness could open the door, it was flung open and a herd of children, all brown haired, some lighter than others and two almost black, swarmed around them, all of them crying "Auntie Kel!"

Inness and Joren slipped by, letting Kel's nieces and nephews try and jump her. Only when Vivian started to wail at the sudden noise did Joren balk at letting them attack her.

Inness laughed. "Just like the rest of us, when the kid cries, you go…"

Joren smiled slightly. This family was obviously very much oriented towards the children.

Outside, the kids had stopped clambering to see their Aunt. They knew, when a baby cried, they needed to clam down or they'd get in trouble.

"Who is that, Auntie Kel?" asked the oldest, a girl.

"This is your new cousin, Vivian, Chandrel," Kel said, smiling at Ander's oldest, who was eleven.

All of the children crowded around their Aunt, peering down into the carrier.

"Aw, Auntie Kel! She's so cute!" cried Tressa, Ander's five year old daughter.

Vivian had stopped crying when the noise had died down. Now, standing in the door, Kel's mother shoo'd the kid's into the house. "You'll have time to see her later, let Aunt Kel get settled first," she told them.

The mod dispersed, and Kel smiled gratefully at her mom. "Thanks. I love them, but they can be a bit much. Especially because I don't even know some of them! Only talked to them, or their parents."

Ilane smiled at her daughter, then leaned down to scoop the small girl child out of her seat. Kel watched as her mother, fairer haired than herself, but still brown haired, with hazel green eyes and her white blond, blue eyed daughter were together. Kel liked the sight of it, seeing _her _daughter with _her_ mother.

Joren had taken their bags to her old room and returned. He watch as Kel's mother held Vivian, trying not to think of what it would have looked like if his mother was their and was holding her.

Steeling himself, he told himself that because of his mother, he was here, and he was seeing the child he called his own with her grandmother.

Looking at Joren, Kel smiled softly, her eyes showing a tender side of her he'd never seen until they'd started the mission to stop the child labor up north. Kel had always been a solid lump, showing no emotions, no sign that anything touched her.

Oh, sure, he'd seen her laugh and joke with her friends, even with him, but she'd never really relaxed enough to let what she felt shine through into her eyes.

He blinked then, realizing he never had either.

Thinking on that, he turned away to leave Kel with her mother, knowing that Vivian was a good thing for both of them.

Kel watched him go, and then turned back to her mother. Ilane had watched her daughter look at Joren, and smiled to herself at the look of adoration in her eyes. She had no way of knowing that Kel was looking at him and smiling because she was glad he'd come, to be part of a family, and had began to show his emotions freely. That she had began to look forward to every time that Joren touched her, smiled at her.

But she could see that her daughter felt something and that he daughter was more alive than she had been in years.

"Well," she said, "he certainly is a looker."

Kel looked up at her mother, her eyes wide, astonished. "Mother!"

"Well it's true," he mother told her as they went inside. "He is."

Kel rolled her eyes, but had to concede that her mother was right. Joren _was_ as looker. His blond fair looks and toned body had made many girls fall for him over the five years that she'd been his partner. She could remember when they were in the academy together, and hearing of all of the girl's he'd seduced and humiliated when they'd found out he was just using them.

Kel thought hard, and knew that he'd never even done one thing with them that he did with her. He'd never comforted them, he'd never done things for them, never asked them if they were okay or if they needed anything. He'd never helped them with out them asking, and even then she remembered hearing all of the girls complain about how he never did anything they asked.

She realized she never had to ask, really. Since they knew each other pretty good as partners, turning the relationship into a non-working one was easy, knowing when each other needed something or the limits of what they could do, what they liked and disliked.

Joren had never learned that about the other girls. Only her. And he'd never helped them raise a child the world thought was his either.

Think of this, she smiled. She was the only one.

----

Kel was in the women's baths, reclining into one of the hot tubs. She had just come in from a day of hard physical work with the trainers and didn't really want company.

On the other side of the hot tub, two blond haired, blue eyed clerks settled into the water.

"Can you believe it? He won't even return my phone calls. He tells me he'd busy when ever I see him, though like I see him much anyways," the bustier one said.

The other looked away. "Yeah…"

The first one's eyes slanted. "What do you know." It wasn't a question. It was a demand.

"Well, I heard…" the other one stopped and swallowed. "I heard he was with Tora from accounting last night."

"What?" cried the first. "That bitch? What does she have that I don't?"

Kel already knew who they were talking about. Joren. Her new partner. They were going on a mission in a week or so and had been working on their physical skills together lately.

"Yeah, well… I also heard he's been spending his days with this one girl from the academy who just graduated early."

"Humph." The girls were silent.

"And that his partner was dead."

"Really?"

"And that he'd done something to him."

"Seriously?"

The one nodded. "And that that girl, the one he's been spending his days with, is his new partner."

"Serves her right. Taking him from me."

"Actually, she's known him for eight years."

"Really?"

"Yeah, same classes at the academy, she just is two years younger."

"Well, he only like them older or really young…"

The two girls were still talking about him using her when she left.

**{A/N:** Wow. That chapter was almost 2000 words long. Humph. And yes, Joren is portrayed as a JackAss in that flashback, but it's just showing how different he was treating her than anyone else.

Oh yes, here are the names of all of her siblings and their children and spouses... Just to be clear. Heh.

Ander's and Talina Mindelan  
Chandrel - 11  
Lachran - 8  
Tressa - 5  
Jacinda - 2  
Faolan - 2  
  
Inness and Amiria (The Shrew) Mindelan  
Moya - 7  
Yorick - 4  
  
Conal - 0  
  
Adalia and Paxton Nond (they live on the otherside of the state (tortall state).  
Jalena - 2  
Caden - 1  
  
Oranie and Jerel Nenan (they live on the Nenan Famliy's land)  
  
Patricine and Ansil Hildrand (they live one town over)  
Panyin - 5  
Vanya - 2

Morsus: Is that good detail? I tried. I do try, because I know you crave it...

Queen's Own: Well, we now know how some react! lol.

Imperfectionist ;D: Wow! Another awesome review! I wanted to make Joren not change because she wanted him to, or because he felt he had to (Sulia Serafine does that just fine- I'd never make it up to her standard if I tried) but because he _just did_. Because thats what he did. because that was his reaction to something, ya know? And I wanted to portray that Kel and Joren know each other inside and out. Maybe they don't want to, but because they need to know each other well enough to know when somethings wrong, to know that they are okay, ect for undercover work, they just can't not act normal. And because both have started to relax... Yeah. I'm ranting. heh. Sorry.

Mystery Princess: Of course I'll keep it coming! and thanks for the compliment! Being known as "she who writes really great k/j fics" is awesome!

jewlz555: thanks! I like to try and not steal from others. You can tell I do sometimes though.

Lady of Masbolle: Actually, I thought of that. You know that Doctor/Patient Privilege thingie? hehehehehe. And yes... Fireworks. Humph. Good way to put it, what happens between those two. If it's not hate it's love... and they love pretty hard, huh?

**}**


	10. 9: Exchange in Words

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce 

Chapter 9: Exchange in Words

Kel and Ilane entered the crowded kitchen. At the large wooden table sat Inness, Joren, Anders, Anders' wife Talina, also known as Tali, Oraine and her husband, Jerel, and Patricine and her husband Ansil.

Joren stood when Kel came in and pulled out the chair next to him. The other guys at the table rolled their eyes and grinned- the women smiled -, though neither Kel nor Joren noticed. They were looking at each other.

After Kel sat, Ilane handed her daughter to her and took a seat across the table.

"So, Kel…" Oraine gave her a sly look, "Who's this?" she waved a hand towards both Vivian and Joren.

Joren had come in talking to Inness, who was seated on his other side. Neither had introduced him.

Kel blushed. "This is my fiancé, Joren Stone, and our daughter, Vivian," she told her sister. Her sister grinned and stood up, as did her other sister and sister-in-law, and came to see the child.

"We haven't seen Caden yet- Adalia and her family are coming up in what is it, five days now?" Patricine looked at their mother who nodded. "But she's a doll… About the same age as Caden, too."

Kel smiled. "So I heard."

Looking between Vivian and Joren, Tali grinned. "I can see where she get's her looks. She'll be a looker when she's older, and she'll stand out of this brown headed crowd."

The girls all laughed, Kel included. They were right. If she continued to have blonde hair, she would stand out of the crowd here, Tali with her light brown hair and Ansil and Jerel's brown hair. The only one who had darker hair was Amiria, Inness' wife.

As they women settled down about the baby, the talk turned to the local fires that had been especially bad the summer before, while Kel was in Galla. She'd heard about them, but couldn't contact her family to make sure everyone was alright and that the people she knew were okay.

As her siblings began to tell her of how her old friends were doing Kel grew sad. Many of them had had their lives destroyed because of the fires.

Finally she found the courage to ask about a good friend of hers, Regina. Gina had lived in their town until about ten years before when their family moved a ways down the valley that the towns along the Domin River called home. Theirs was the biggest, but other's dotted the river. All around them were mountains, feeding the river.

When she asked of Gina, her mother sighed and looked down. Kel knew instantly what that look meant, looking down into her lap.

Her brother, Conal, had entered behind her. He saw the stranger, holding a small child in one arm. The other hand was in his youngest sister's lap, and she was fiddling with it, staring at it.

At first he didn't understand, but when their mother took a deep breath and told her that Gina had been dead over a year now, killed in the first of the blazes, he understood.

After all, he was going to have married Gina next winter if she hadn't died.

Kel nodded to her mother, taking a deep breath to stabilize herself. The man next to her brought his hand up to rub her shoulder comfortingly and then wrap his arm around her shoulders and let her lean against him.

No one had paid attention to the door way on the other side of the kitchen. With amount of noise that his nieces and nephews made, there was no doubt that no one had heard her come in the door either.

As she pulled out a chair, Amiria did the worst possible thing she could have done. "Regina Vaggent? She's a little slut!"

The room fell quiet at that. Kel looked up, her eyes steely. The man next to her's eyes glinted dangerously as he glared at the woman and Conal himself wanted to throw himself at her.

"She is not," he and his little sister said at the same time.

Kel looked up at him, her eyes sad. "I'm sorry Conal, I didn't know…"

Conal nodded. He knew she'd been on a mission. He also knew, because he had called and asked headquarters in Corus to get the message of her death to Kel, that she wasn't contacting them at all since the start of the 21 month mission. It wasn't likely she would, they told her. It was too dangerous for her and her partner.

And he understood, a little. He knew she dealt with real criminals, not the kind that robbed someone they knew or didn't wear gloves. She dealt with murders and serial killers and rapists and slavers.

Turning to Amiria, he shook his head. "You really should learn to hold your tongue. She wasn't a slut. She was my fiancé, and she's been dead a year, because of those fires, if you actually cared."

When Conal was done telling her that, he saw his sister stand up and run down the hall towards the bathroom. The man beside her stood, his body tense. He let Oraine take the child from him and started out the door after Kel.

As he was leaving, Amiria snorted at Conal. "Humph, Whatever. She was friends with that little slut sister of yours-" She stopped saying what she was going to say, her eyes wide. Looking at the entrance to the kitchen that the man had just left through, his eyes widened. He stood there, his gun half drawn.

"I don't like you. My fiancé doesn't like you, and frankly I don't think the rest of this family likes you. My fiancé is not a slut. I would know, because we've spent the last five years of our life practically tied together because of our job and our relationship." He stopped, shaking his head. "I never want to hear you speak like that of her again, or of her friends like that. Because, frankly, you seem more like a slut wearing that," he waved to the low cut top she wore and the short shorts, "than Kel."

He turned on his heal and left.

The family watched that, and almost as one, all of the brown haired heads turned to Amiria.

Standing in the back of the kitchen, Piers Mindelan had watched the whole scene unfold.

He'd know who the boy with his daughter was immediately. He was obviously her partner now lover, the man who'd she'd told her mother she was bringing. And from the way he'd acted at the insult that his daughter-in-law had given her, he truly cared for her.

Stepping forward, Piers turned his eyes to Amiria. "Get out. And please, don't return. I won't have you being like this around my family."

Amiria's eyes went wide. "But, but… But this is my home too!"

"No," he said firmly, "This is not your home. And we are not your family."

Inness looked down, not standing when she did. When she tugged on his arm, he didn't even look up. "Go, Amiria, before I do what Joren said he'd do if you insulted my sister again."

"Inness!" she gasped. "How can you let them do this to me?"

"I'm not letting them, you are. If you'd stopped to think about what you were saying… Maybe I'd still be on your side. Leave, I'm tired of defending you. They're all right, and I'm done trying to tell them they're wrong," Inness looked up at her. "I'll expect you off my father's property in two days."

Amiria's eyes widened. She turned, pushing past Piers and out the door.

"Now what the hell just happened here?" Piers asked.

----

Kel leaned over the toilet, emptying her stomach into the bowl. When she tried to push her hair back, it fell into her face again, until she felt cool hands pull it back and another cool hand rub her back.

"Shhh," his voice was calm, soothing. She could hear the tightness that told her he was upset though. "It's all right."

Kel retched once more, before wiping her eyes on the back of her hand. Looking up, she saw his blue eyes were filled with concern for her.

She leaned against his chest, her head falling against it with a quiet thump. "Oh gods, Joren…"

Joren held her, his arms wrapping around her as he rocked her gently. "It's okay Kel, it's okay…"

Kel just let him hold her for a while, glad that someone was there to comfort her.

A time later, Ilane came to the door with a damp cloth and Kel's tooth brush. "Here sweetie…" She handed them to her as Kel stood.

"Amiria…" Kel looked at her mother, waiting to be told what had happened.

"Is gone. Your father told her to leave here, Inness told her to leave his place…" Her mother hugged her. "Gods, Kel, I'm so sorry."

Kel nodded. "I know, momma, I know."

Joren stood from the floor, hands going to his back pockets feeling significantly out of place. Ilane smiled at him. "Why don't you go get Vivian and I'll show you to the guest room. No reason for you two to stay in her old room."

As Kel finished cleaning herself up, Joren took Vivian from Oraine who smiled at him. "Thank you, for standing up for her."

Joren looked at Kel's sister in surprise. "Why wouldn't I?"

Oraine shook her head. "Just, thank you."

Joren still looked confused, but he nodded.

As he followed Kel's mom up the stairs she came out the bathroom and followed him up. She helped her mother gather their things from her old room and moved them across the hall to the guest room, which was larger and had a connected bathroom.

When she opened the door, Kel's eyes widened. "Thank you mom!"

Joren laughed when he saw why she was excited. In the room stood and old cradle, hanging from a matching stand. He watched her run her hands over it and saw a small tear run down her cheek. "It was mine… All of ours," Kel told him, looking up.

Joren nodded and laid Vivian down in it. She gurgled happily when Kel gently rocked it.

"It's yours Kel. Adalia uses Paxton's old one and all the other's have their own…" Ilane told her daughter as she stood in the door way. "Why don't you get some rest, take a shower or a bath or something. I'll come get you later, for lunch."

Kel nodded. "Thanks mom."

Joren smiled at her. "Yes, thank you Mrs. Mindelan."

Ilane laughed. "Joren dear, call me Mom or Ilane!"

Joren nodded. "If you say so."

Ilane backed out of the room, closing the door behind her. Kel let out a sigh, arching her back to crack it. Joren watched her, his blue eyes still filled with concern.

Walking up behind her, he pulled her back so that her back was against his chest. Leaning his head down onto her shoulder, he nuzzled her ear with his nose. "You okay, Kel?"

She sighed again. "I think so… I think I'll be fine. She just… She upsets me, you know."

Joren nodded, his chin hitting her shoulder when he did so. She laughed a little. "Thank you Joren," she told him, turning around in his arms.

He smiled, hugging her. Her head laid against his chest, her arms wrapped themselves around his waist. They stayed like that for a while.

----

He remembered the first time he asked her if she was okay out of genuine concern. Not concern for his partner because if she wasn't okay she could get him killed, but concern for the girl whom he spent his whole life with.

When she nodded, gritting her teeth in pain and trying to make herself stand on a shot leg, he grabbed her under the arms and stood her up, looping the arm on her hurt side over his shoulders. "No, I meant, are you okay. Not are-you-okay-enough-you-aren't dead," he told her, sarcasm littering his voice.

She had to go to the hospital and have a minor surgery to close the wound. He stayed awake, sitting next to her bed until she woke up from it.

He remembered that she smiled when she first saw him, then frowned. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

He almost felt hurt, but knew that it was a valid question. He wouldn't have come a month ago.

"I don't know," he told her. "I think I might just care about Kel."

She eyed him, but nodded. The pain was too great to argue.

**{A/N:** Heh, this one is over 2,000 words! Yay! Each chapter is getting bigger (that's good :) Anyways, thanks for all of the great reviews you guys, they mean alot! And this chapter was written in several perspectives, if you can call them that. Their all third person, but still limited, ya get?

Queen's Own: heh, thanks.

jewlz555: Glad it was!

Morsus: Heh, the fluff is coming, it's coming! Glad the detail was good.

ossini: lol. Yeah, it has a nice ring to it. Lol. yeah, he did kind of sound nasty in the flash back, but he seems better now. I wonder if he is... I dunno. We'll have to see where he goes, eh?

**}**


	11. 10: Breaking Point

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce

Chapter 10: Breaking Point

Ilane stocked into the kitchen her eyes hard. "Damn that girl. Damn her. Inness, I swear, I'm _done_ being nice to her."

Inness nodded sadly. "I know, mom. I am too."

Tali walked back into the kitchen. "She left Moya and Yorick here."

Heads nodded. She wouldn't think to take her children with her. Piers sat down with a sigh. "Poor Kel. How can we make it up to her?"

Ilane sat next to her husband. "She'll be okay. Joren's with her right now, and if anyone can calm her down, it's him."

The other women nodded. The men looked at them all, nodding, and joined them, trying to look like they knew what they were nodding about so that one of the women wouldn't try and explain.

As the family settled down, a shriek came from the family room and three girls sped through the kitchen from one door to the next, being chased by Chandrel. Jacinda trailed after, making just as much noise.

The boys all peeked around the corner, snickering. The adults smiled. At least the kids were okay.

Patricine sighed. She was too much older to really know her sister. It seemed strange that they had children the same age, or there abouts, and she and her sister had such a great distance. Of course, she was young, at twenty for having the child.

And she looked great for being just three months after birth. But then again, Kel had always worked hard, so she doubted that she really tried to lose it, and just did.

Oraine worried about her little sister. Of all of the siblings, she was probably the closest to Kel. The others were older, and only she and Adalia had gone to Yamani with their mother and father.

Now, she wondered if she really did know her sister. Of course all of those years at the academy, when her mom and dad couldn't afford to bring her home, had distanced her from them. And then there was the five years working on undercover missions which meant she could only call at intervals of about nine months, except this last one. It had been almost two years.

She didn't know how she stood it. Then again, Kel had Joren with her during those snits. Maybe she did know how she stood it.

----

Upstairs, Kel leaned back into her bath, sighing at the comforting feeling. "Gods, Joren… This feels great."

From his seat on the closed Toilet, Joren laughed. "I'm glad, Kel."

He watched her, his blue eyes tracing her face, looking for any sign of the previous emotions. She didn't show any anger or sadness, though he knew it was still there.

Opening her eyes, Kel watched as Joren looked at her. Cocking her head to the side, she shot him a questioning glance.

He shrugged, leaning back. "You okay now?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I think I am, actually."

Joren smiled slightly. "Good, I'm glad." He stood up then. "I think I'm gonna go read for a bit, 'kay?"

Kel smiled. "Sure. If I fall asleep, wake me once the water's cold."

Joren nodded. "Sure, Kel."

He left the bathroom thinking. She was tense- he could see it from where he'd been sitting. And she might be okay, but she was still upset.

Thinking about this, Joren grabbed his book from his bag, checked Vivian, who was back asleep, and lay back on the bed.

She's so strong, he thought, wondering if he came off as strong as she did. He doubted it. _No one could be as strong as her_, he thought, not realizing what he was thinking.

He didn't know how long he lay there, musing. The next thing he knew, Kel's mom was knocking softly and sticking her head in the door.

When she saw just him, she raised an eyebrow. He pointed to the bathroom. She nodded. "You hungry?" she asked quietly.

Joren shook his head. "Not now…"

Ilane nodded. "When you get hungry, come down and I'll find you something, okay?"

He nodded. When she'd closed the door, he stood up and moved to the bathroom, looking into the tub. There Kel lay, under the dying bubbles, asleep.

He leaned down next to her and shook her shoulder. "Kel… Kel!"

She opened her eyes, turning her head to look at him. "Humm… Joren?"

"Hey Kel," he smiled at her. "It's been awhile."

She nodded. "Thanks for waking me up," she told him as she reached for the plug.

When he heard the water start to drain he looked at her sharply. She waved to the towels hanging on the wall. "Hand me one?"

He nodded and grabbed one. With out warning, Kel stood from the tub and grabbed the towel from him.

"Kel!" he cried, spinning away.

Kel laughed. "Oh come on, you've seen all of it before, maybe not mine, but someone's."

Joren rolled his eyes. "You're not someone, if you hadn't noticed."

Kel's eyebrows rose. "Oh really?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

Joren blushed slightly. Where was this coming from? It wasn't to say that he didn't like looking at her, but gods, this was _Kel_! Kel, the girl he worked with, the girl he fought with, the girl he protected, the girl was Vivian's mother…

His thoughts trailed off at that. If all of what he said was true, then truly her actions weren't so far fetched. But they were, and he knew it. He didn't think of Kel like that… Did he?

Kel watched his face, hiding her true emotions behind the guise of laughter. She truly wanted to know how he would react to this, to see what he felt.

She'd come to the conclusion, while in her bath, that she had been falling for him for a time now.

And she wanted to see how he reacted to her, like this.

Joren's eyes flickered with something. Then, it began to return and she began to realize what it was, and wondered what she had gotten herself into.

Joren watched Kel, knowing that he couldn't lie to himself and to her about this. She was testing him, for something, he felt sure of. But that didn't matter.

"Kel," he said, his voice deeper than normal. "Kel, don't… Not now…"

She looked at him. "Why not now?" she asked.

"Because…" Joren's voice tightened.

Kel smiled at him. "Are you sure?"

Joren groaned. No, he wasn't sure, but could he actually do something? He didn't know, and with her questioning him…

He leaned forward and grabbed her arms, pulling her out of the tub. His blue eyes shone darker that she'd ever seen, boring into her own.

She felt his breath as he leaned down, laying gentle kisses against her lips. Her hands went behind his head, letting her towel drop.

It didn't seem to matter. His hands ran from her arms down her back to her waist, pulling her against him as he kissed her. When he finally pulled back, he groaned. "Kel…" his voice made her shiver and he groaned again.

She was opening her mouth to say something when a cry pierced the air.

Vivian.

----

He remembered watching her once, when she was out with her friends. Sitting at the bar with a beer, not listening to the girl next to him as she droned on about something.

She was with a bunch of guys, guys he vaguely knew from the academy. They were kids in her year or the one preceding or following. None of the kids had been in his class but her.

She was laughing. He didn't think he'd ever seen her laugh like that, so openly. She looked beautiful when she did.

He told himself later, that he'd never thought that, but over the next few years, he admitted it to himself that he had, in fact, thought that, and that it was true.

Her hair had been silky looking, shaking with her when she threw her head back and laughed. Her hazel eyes sparkled and her nose crinkled up just the slightest bit.

Her lips were cheery red and curved into her seldom seen smile, and her laughter itself… It was beautiful.

As he watched her, he drank. He drank alcohol, even more intoxicating, he drank in the sight of her.

**{A/N:** Guess what? I made an Image for this! WhooWhoo! lol. the url is in my profile, so look at it! It's purtty! lol. Okay, Kel's a little out of character, but once the next chapter comes you'll see why!

Queen's Own: Yeah, it seems the general consensus for Amiria is "BITCH". lol. Yes, fluff coming! hehe.. this was a teaser for you.

Darking Queen: yeh, I thought maybe someday. I'd have to change their names and such, and the names of the places (that wouldn't be too hard) so maybe someday I will!

jewlz555: I'm glad they do!

Mystery Princess: well, gradually yes... But I don't know if they were ever the bitter enemies they are in the books in mine. Well, yes, they were, but I don't think it was to the same extent. I'm not sure yet.

ossini: eww.... they're icky. maybe ms pierce will loan him to you.

Earth-angel666: noooo.... he's not for sale. hehehe. he's mine. all mine! wait, no he's not. damn. he's tamora pierce's. but she married. so maybe she'll sell him and we can all share him.

Morsus: Hey, the bitchy person had to go. Plus, I wanted Joren to be unsettled asap once he arrived. heh. then he would be unsettled enough to do what he did in this chapter. And I'm improving? YAY!

**}**


	12. 11: Surrendering

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce

Chapter 11: Surrendering

Joren closed the door behind them softly, watching Kel lay Vivian down in the cradle. She was smiling gently, her face thrown into soft relief from the bedside lamp that glowed gently.

Joren turned away from them, heading into the bathroom. Kel followed shortly after, ducking her head to keep from looking at him directly.

Chuckling softly, Joren lifted his hand and ran his fingers down her cheek, bring them up under her chin to make her look at him. "Kel…"

Kel blushed, averting her eyes. "Not now, Joren…"

He raised his eyebrows. "Why not now, Kel?" he asked her, mocking her from earlier.

Kel groaned, rolling her eyes. She hadn't wanted _this_ to happen. She just wanted to see… To see if what she felt was real. She wanted to see if she could be happy.

What Amiria had said had hurt. For some reason, the woman thought she slept with every man she came into contact with. Showing up unmarried with a child didn't help.

And to top it off, she was still a virgin. She wanted to know what it was like. She wanted to see if this was truly what she wanted, this life she'd made for her and Joren.

When Vivian had interrupted them, she'd been grateful. Joren's kisses were more than she'd thought, and she'd lost herself in them faster than she'd thought possible.

Now, one of Joren's hands on her face, the other on her waist, pulling her towards him.

He leaned down, kissing her gently. She couldn't help it- she responded, her hands moving up around his neck.

She felt the hand that had been on her face move down her back, causing her to shiver.

Joren's next kiss was harder, with more passion behind it. When he broke it long enough to take a breath, she opened her eyes, starring into his. She saw the same emotion from earlier.

Want.

And she surrendered to it, feeling the same emotion surge through her own body.

He backed her up against the bathroom counter, his hands roaming up her back under shirt. Her skin prickled, and when his hands worked their way under the waist of her jeans, she tightened her grip in his hair and moaned.

Joren took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, pulling her closer as he did so.

He hadn't felt this. Not want, like this. The want he always felt with the girls before had been pure lust, sheer attraction to sex.

This was different. He wanted her, Kel. He wanted to be gentle, he wanted to love her.

He'd never wanted that before.

And that scared him.

Obviously, she felt the same, the way her hands moved in his hair, the way she responded to his touch…

He pulled back, panting, looking at her face until she opened her eyes.

"Kel…" he warned, gently. "If this goes on…"

Kel felt her stomach flutter. Leaning up, she kissed him, gently, before pulling back enough to look into his eyes. "I know."

That was all he needed to hear, before he was kissing her again. Moments later, he was leading her to their bed, pushing her down until she lay on the bed. Lying beside her, he ran his hand up under her shirt, trailing his fingers across the skin until they reached the underside of her bra.

He could feel her tense up, just slightly, and looked up into her eyes. She looked back at him and relaxed, nodding. He continued trailing his fingers upward, until the shirt she wore hampered him. With a gentle smile he used his other hand to pull it up.

She arched her back, letting the tee-shirt slide up until it reached her shoulders, then she leaned forward, letting it slide over her head. Once it was off, she looked at him, watching him drink in the sight of her.

She realized then, that he truly hadn't looked at her in the bathroom. Smiling slightly, she tugged his shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor with hers.

It continued from their, his hands roaming her body, finding the places that made her squirm and moan. When they had finally shed all of their clothes, he looked into her eyes, making sure it was alright.

All he found was acceptance. She gave a small cry when he entered her, and he looked at her, shocked. "Kel… This… Is this?"

She nodded. He kissed her gently, trying to take her mind off the pain. Finally she moved gently underneath him, his signal to continue.

And he did. When he finally came, just after her, he had to bite his lip to keep from making to much noise. She too, had had to bite, though she'd picked his shoulder to keep the yell of pleasure in.

Lying there, afterwards, Joren pulled her as close to him as he could get her, stroking her hair with his hand absently. Wrapped in his arms, his body radiating warmth, Kel slowly fell asleep, wondering just what this night had meant.

----

The next morning, Kel woke at 8:30, knowing something was wrong. Vivian should have woken her up and hour before hand.

Sitting up, she looked around her, and spotted the note on the bedside next to her.

Kel, I got Vivian when I woke up, sleep as long as you like - mom.

She smiled, before laying back down and snuggling back into Joren's arms. He tightened his grip on her, asking "Viv?"

"Mom's got her," she whispered, looking at him through a tangle of hair. She lifted a hand up and brushed his hair from his face.

He leaned down and kissed her softly. "Humm… We're all alone then, eh?"

Her grin matched his as she nodded. "Yeah… For as long as we want," she winked at him.

"Well, I think we make use of that time…" he told her, running a hand up and down her side.

Kel moaned softly as she nodded. "Yeah, me too."

----

Ilane Mindelan had woken early every year of her life. Even as a teenager, she'd woken with sun, working on her families horse farm.

Now, though they only had a few horses, she still woke early, habit of years keeping her from not.

When she'd peeked into the quest room, she'd smiled at the sight of her daughter in a tangled mess of limbs and hair with that man she was engaged to, Joren.

Quietly, she'd picked up Vivian and a few diapers, a change of clothing and her formula and bottle before leaving again. A few minutes later she returned with a note so her daughter wouldn't sit straight up in bed and start screaming.

Now she hid her smile as both Kel and Joren came downstairs, showered and dressed. "Hungry?" she asked, motioning to the food being kept warm in the oven.

Both nodded, and Kel gave her mother a smile. "Thanks for taking Vivian," she told her as she passed her mother to get plates.

Ilane nodded. "We just had some quality time together, me and Vivian."

Kel laughed. "If you say so mom," she said, dishing herself some hash browns, bacon and eggs.

Joren followed her to the table where the sat across from Ilane.

"So, Kel…" Ilane watched her daughter out of the corner of her eye. "Have you thought about a service yet?"

Kel coughed, looking down at her plate. Finally, she looked up to meet her mother's eye, but found her looking down and playing with her daughter.

Sighing, she glanced at Joren before speaking. "No, I haven't actually… Why?"

"Well, it just that Adalia's going to be here… And you know we can't travel to Corus…" her mother looked up finally.

Kel had known this was coming as soon as she heard about Adalia coming. Her family wanted a wedding. Having the child before they were married was fine and dandy, but now that the who family was together, what was stopping her from getting married? She had the child, and she would marry the father. The child wouldn't be considered out of wedlock since she'd been holding off on the wedding so that he family could be there.

She glanced at Joren. Joren shrugged. He'd know it would happen, sooner or later. If it was sooner, well, at least he and Kel were getting along.

More than along, a traitorous part of him said. But he had to agree.

Kel sighed again. "Why don't we see how long it will take to get everything we need, and I'll see about getting our friends and such as they are up here, okay?"

Joren nodded, grinning slightly. "Neal's going to love this…"

Kel glared at him. Ilane raised an eyebrow.

Joren saw the look and took the liberties of explaining. "He's not to fond of me, and the fact that we're together doesn't sit well with him…"

Ilane smiled and shook her head. "Well then it'll just be exciting, won't it?"

Kel groaned. Yes, it would be, though that wasn't the word she would have chosen.

-----

Kel could remember all their weddings but Anders. Anders had been when they were in the Yamani Isles, and they hadn't attended.

But she could remember all of the others. And they were long, boring and made all of the women cry.

And they were expensive. Custom was that the brides family paid for the wedding. And a short order wedding was even more expensive, considering that everything had to be done soon.

Adalia's had been rushed, because her soon-to-be husband had gotten orders he was going to be shipping out to fight off one of the common civil wars in the neighboring country of Sarain. Everyone knew that they'd become part of the Allied States of the Eastern Lands soon. Then The Roof, which ran from their borders all the way up into Galla.

The set wedding date had been after he would be gone. So they'd moved it up, and because of that, they had to rush everything.

Rush, rush, rush. Kel remembered being glad she lived away from home and only had to arrive right before the wedding.

**{A/N:** Wow! Sixteen reviews! And you guys are lucky that I actually wrote this chapter... I was sick all day! Eck!

Rowana Silvakisma: /sends flying monkeys after her, but then calls them back/ no, I think I'll keep you around so that you can review next chapter! /evil laugh/

Morsus: Actually, I like the flashbacks... I like being able to give background on the characters and not tell it, but show it... hehe!

Darking Queen: /nodnod/ of course!

PsychoLioness: six reviews, huh? cool stuffs! I like this many in one chapter, heh. Even if it was for six...

Lady of Masbolle: that sucks! I'm glad you like them though!

Mysrey Princess: heh... I think he now knows he likes her alot more... lol.

Deadmen's Bells: LOL! I thought someone would think that, but I didn't know how else to say it and I thought that they might get over that heart attack if they kept reading...

Earth-angel666: okay. I have my bryce /points to boyfriend/

Sabrina: sorry about it not letting you...I don't know why it wont!

Queen's Own: Nothing silly! she's hungry or needs a change... why ever else babies cry!

jewlz555: Alittle lusty lovin' too! lol.

**}**


	13. 12: Lets Talk About the Wedding

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce

Chapter 12: Lets Talk About the Wedding

Kel sat at the table with her mother on one side of her and the local seamstress on the other. Around the table her sisters Oraine and Patricine, along with Tali sat, watching amusedly as the two women harassed Kel into making choices.

"What about this?" the seamstress, Zhene, a woman of Bahzir decent. "It's simple enough to get it done, but it's still lovely…"

Kel sighed. "Why can't I just wear yours mother? They all did," she motioned to the three sitting across from her.

"Because," he mother said, looking at her as she pretended to organize the magazines on the table. "Your too tall."

Kel groaned again. "Fine! Fine! Whatever you think I'll look the best in, mother. Are you happy?"

She glared at her mother. Ilane glared back. "Humph. Fine."

Kel closed her eyes thankfully. It was over!

"So, onto the fittings." Kel groaned. Just what she need. More hours of torture.

----

Kel and Joren sat across from each other in the living room, the phone on the small table between them. "You first," he said. She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Have it your way."

"I will," he told her, as she picked up the phone.

Dialing the familiar number, she called Roald. "Hey, it's Kel."

"Hey Kel!" Joren could hear the voice just slightly. "Me and Shinko were just getting ready to go out."

Kel smiled. Her childhood friend from the Yamani's was very in love with her Tortallian friend. "Well, I won't keep you long. I just wanted to invite you to Joren and my's wedding."

There was a silence for a minute. "Have you told Neal yet?"

"No…" she cringed, knowing what was coming.

"Good. I want to be far away from here when you do. He's been complaining about you and Joren just being together like crazy. I don't want to know what it will be like now."

Kel nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "So… You'll come?"

"Of course! I'll even see if I can bring the family!"

Kel groaned and Joren's face turned a paler color than normal.

"Um, Roald… I don't know if…"

"Shush, Kel, of course it's a good idea. And Aunt Alanna will agree with me."

Kel sighed. "Yeah, she would."

"Alright then… When is it?"

"Ten days," Kel said, looking at Joren.

"Ten days?!"

"Yeah, mom insists I do it while the whole family's here…"

Roald sighed. "Alright. Well, I'll see ya."

Kel next called Faleron and Lalasa, then Sever, Owen, Cleon, Prosper and Merric. Then she handed the phone to Joren.

Joren sighed. "Do I have to?"

"Unless you want to call Neal…" Kel threatened. Joren shuddered and dialed the number quickly.

"Hey George," he said, when someone picked up.

"Hey, Joren! Ready to bail on Kel yet?" Joren grinned at Kel at that.

"No, actually… I'm calling to invite you to the wedding."

George was silent for a moment. Finally, he spoke. "Humm. When."

"Ten days from now."

"Ten days! Kid, slow down!"

Joren laughed. "Her mother's insisting. And when she insists, she insists."

George sighed. "Well, I suppose Alanna will want to come. She'll bring Myles for you, and the kids. I suppose I could come too."

Joren smiled. "Thanks, George."

"Welcome, kid."

The next call was to Quasim. Joren talked a little longer, but the man said he would come. Then Dom, and then an old friend from the academy, Zahir Alhaz. Finally, he called Wyldon Cavall.

"Uh, sir, this is Joren, Joren Stone?"

"Yes, yes… What can I do for you? I thought you were on vacation?"

"Um," Joren looked at Kel who just raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I am, sir, with Kel… Um, We just wanted to invite you to the wedding, sir…"

Kel laughed at him, later. She told him she couldn't remember a time when he'd said sir so many times in one day.

But at the time, she wasn't laughing. Because the next phone call when to Neal. And no one was looking forward to that.

----

Nealan Queenscove was a very direct person. His father was a prominent person in the political arena, as head physician, also know as the Surgeon General, which made it hard for him to be direct at the University.

When he'd transferred over to the academy, he'd found that people really didn't care who his father was as long as he did what he was told and stayed out of trouble- and out of their business.

He'd met Kel when she was ten, and she'd been pushed out of their class and up two years. She still stayed for awhile longer than the class she studied with, but she'd graduated earlier than the class she'd enrolled with.

She was friends with his friends - when she was around.

But, since she graduated, she wasn't around much. She'd been given the partner Joren Stone, an enemy from their first years at the academy. She never said so, but he was convinced the man still treated her like he had around him.

Sure, he'd seen some strange things - like Joren protecting Kel, and Joren holding her child…

He still couldn't believe that it was Joren's child too. But everyone else seemed to think so, so he stayed quiet.

He really didn't like Joren Stone. His girlfriend, Yuki, told him he was being a jerk to Kel. She knew who was the father of her baby, or she'd find out why.

And Yuki would know, too, because she and Kel and Roald's girlfriend were all friends from the Yamani's. Apparently, girls share things boys don't.

Picking up the phone as it rang for the fourth time, Neal snapped out "What?"

"Humph. Is that anyway to treat me?" asked a welcomed voice.

"Kel! Kel! How are you? When are you coming back? Are you coming back without him?" he cried.

Kel was silent for a moment. "Um… I'm fine, I'm coming back in a while, and no, I'm not."

"Oh," he said, sighing.

"But I wanted to invite you to the wedding, Neal."

"Invite me to the…" he stopped, his chest hurt. She was marrying that thing? "Kel!"

"Yes Neal?" she asked. Her voice was calm. Too calm. She'd put on her Yamani mask.

"Kel… How… Why?" he stuttered out.

At this point, Yuki walked through the door. "Neal? Who's on the phone?" she asked.

"Kel," he told her.

"Kel? OOOH!" she reached for it and grabbed it out of his hands before he could protest.

"Kel!" she cried. "Lalasa told me! We're coming, don't listen to him. Oh Kel!"

He could hear Kel's laughter, a fumed. He'd make Joren Stone pay for this.

----

That afternoon, Kel and Joren went for a ride. Ilane Mindelan still had a horse farm, even though she didn't breed them like her parents had.

Kel chose a mare, a filly of the mare she'd grown up ridding on. The mare was brown with white socks and a star one her forehead, named Hoshi for the Old Yamani word for 'star'.

Joren rode a stallion, a young one, who was black with a no white at all. His name was Darkness. Darkness' mate, Moonlight, ran along the paddock fence until they were far enough away for her to turn back to her foal, a colt named Lightning.

Ilane watched them as they rode across the fields that the Mindelan land had, smiling as they talked to each other, Kel coaching Joren into better riding.

That wasn't to say that the boy couldn't ride, but Kel was a little better for her time in the saddle here and in the Yamani's in her childhood. Joren had only learned some years before. In some places, in The Roof and even in Sarain, horses were more economical than cars. Sure, the military had jeeps and tanks and such, but horses could wide through the rugged terrain and the poor folk who made up a majority of the countries could afford to feed them on the small bits of land they owned.

They couldn't feed rising fuel prices.

Joren and Kel spent the afternoon talking and joking. Vivian was at home with Ilane, being watched over by not only her, but Kel's two sisters and sister-in-law, and their barrage of children.

When they returned, towards dark, they unsaddled the horses and curried them, wiping the sweat and grime of the day off them, the letting Darkness into the paddock with Moonlight and Hoshi into her own with a incurable gelding named Peachblossom, who could only stand Hoshi. Ilane kept him because she felt bad for him. The single groom that worked for them loved her all the more for that.

Stephen Groomsman loved horses more than anything. His room, which he didn't pay for because Ilane wouldn't hear of it, was over the stable.

They entered the house, tired, sweaty, but happy. They'd had a good time.

When Kel went over to Vivian, the girls hands went up and she made fists, reaching for the blurred image of her mother.

Kel smiled at that, looking over at Joren as she picked the child up. Joren smiled at her over the other people, his blue eyes melting more.

Soon their wood be no ice left in the gaze of Joren Stone.

---

When Kel was little, living in the Yamani Isles, she played with a girl she called Cricket and another, Yuki. They were two of her few playmates, the two that took her to dawn practices and helped her learn to control herself.

Just because Yamani and Tortall both flew the flag of The Allied States of the Eastern Lands, it didn't mean that they had converted to the same way of life. Sure, technology was bringing them close together, but how they lived and how they displayed themselves was different. Kel would learn this. She would adapt.

Later she would be called The Lump because she had adapted so well.

Joren grew up a sullen, frigid boy. When he lived in the group home, the other boys taunted him, calling him Ice Boy. He was the one who would never melt, who would only shatter under the pressure of love and warmth. They told him he would never be like them.

And he found out that they were right. Most of those boys never made it to twenty, let alone graduated the toughest course of work and endurance that was know in the Allied States. The test of eight or so years of grueling work to become what was known as a knight- an officer of the highest rank.

He had adjusted to live with the others. It would let him become what he was bound to be.

She and he both had survived the mortal's way of weeding out the weak by adjusting.

**{A/N:** Heh... I actually was bored today. So I made a webpage for this. You can see it if you go to my homepage. That way it's all purtty and cool... hehe

Queen's Own: Well, if she went, I don't know where this story would go... /is all upset/ she's my baby... she's like... the main character, with Joren and Kel as Back Up. lol.

Darking Queen: Actually, I have her books! LOL. My mom and I love her. We keep them all, though we lend them out, and reread them.

Morsus: Oh poor you /pats back/ you need some lust full ness ness then. You know, PWP. that will make you want to run back to the long romance scenes and hug them and keep them and have people write them forever... unless you like that, but then you never come back to the long romance scenes...

Rowana: If I made them longer, I don't know what I'd do. Because then I'd be halfway through them and be... ugh... I'm bored and go do something else. But when their short, I write until their done and then Who! I can write another!

Sabrina: heh, yeah, I like Vivian too. She's sweet...

jewlz555: I'm getting better! yay! lol

Mystery Princess: Well, lets see how funny he is when he come's for the wedding...

ossini: heh. /looks closely at eyes and ears/ nope, their not virgins

**}**


	14. 13: Here comes the Bride

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce

Chapter 13: Here comes the Bride

Chandrel was in charge of the little kids. For the sandy brown haired girl, this wasn't anything new. Except she had to keep them good, even while they were all dressed up, _and_ she had to remember her part as a bride's maid. Aunt Kel's two friends, Shinko and Yuki, were the other two.

Aunt Kel had said that her sisters weren't going to be brides maids because one, two of them were pregnant and two, there _was_ a big age gap. Plus, they needed to take care of the little kids, because knowing their fathers, they wouldn't be able to keep them out of trouble. She agreed.

The twins were going to be walking before all of them. Jacinda was the flower girl and Foalan was carrying the rings.

Looking around, she realized Tressa and Moya were missing. She groaned. "Lach, did you see where they went?" she called, running towards the door.

"Yeah, their on the couch!" he called back from where he kept the younger boys busy.

She moved to the couch and sighed with relief. They were there! She wasn't going to ruin Aunt Kel's wedding.

Vanya came in at that moment, his little hands holding a cup of juice as he tried to walk out into the room. Rescuing the cup from his grip, she got the juice into a no-spill cup.

Maybe she had spoken to soon.

----

Kel looked down at herself critically, not really liking how the dress fit. Shinko, though, thought differently. "Kel! You look marvelous! Really, this dress… Your beautiful."

Yuki nodded her agreement. She and Shinko had a arrived a few days before, both of them attacking Kel with hugs and well wishes.

The boys had arrived hours earlier, and were hustling to get ready for the noon ceremony.

Kel had decided that they should get married out side. As normally it was done, a Justice of the Peace was marrying them, not a priest or priestess. They had stopped doing that centuries before, when the last King had ruled. Then again, that was long before the Allied States, so…

With a sigh, Kel spun, watching the dress in the mirror. It _was_ a beautiful dress. And with her hair as long as it was now, it was kind of pretty in a way.

Yuki set the veil over her head, the crown of it a gold band that attached the gauzy material to flow all around her head. Her sister, Adalia, set her shoes in front of her. Flat soled sandals, like everyone else would wear.

Cursing, Kel attempted to put them on, but couldn't. "This damn… bandage wrap! It's in the way."

"Kel…" Oraine cautioned, but Tali laughed. "Oh, leave it be, Ora. You remember what you were like? And Adie…" Adalia laughed.

"Yeah, yeah… I know. I had a rushed wedding too." She flashed a grin at her sister and helped her put her shoes on.

Patricine laughed as she entered the room. "Kel! You should see your friend Neal. He's horrible upset that this is actually happening. He tried to get a rise out of Joren, but Joren just stared at him."

Kel smiled to herself. She'd told Joren something would happen, and they wanted to keep this as sane of an event as possible. As it was, Jon Conté was coming. As was his wife, and the kids, per insistence of the Tortallian Governor, Alanna, and his first son, Kel's friend Roald.

They'd known though. Neal was going to try and make a scene. And Joren had promised, that if he could stop it, he would.

Yuki sighed. "We had this talk three times already. He's not to fuss. I mean, what does it matter? It's not like he could be jealous of Joren! He's got me. And he had me before Kel had Joren… Well, at least _that_ way."

Kel laughed. "And even though me and Joren have always fought, we've gotten along fine for the last five years, at least. We still squabble. Just over different things now."

Tali snickered. "Yeah, and they make up a little differently now."

Kel blushed. "Shush," she scolded.

"Oh look, the blushing bride!" Ilane said as she swooped into the room. Following her was Alanna Olau-Swoop, Thayet Conté and Kaslin Conté, who was pulling a reluctant Lalasa along.

"Oh, Kel, by the way, your Grandmother is wondering why she didn't get a personal phone call from you," her mother smiled at her. "So I told her you were to busy planning."

Kel groaned. She knew what that meant. She owed her mother. "What do you want, mother?"

Alanna and Thayet laughed. "Well," Ilane smiled, "While your on the Honeymoon, Vivian should stay here, I think…"

Kel rolled her eyes. "I thought we explained this already. We need to go back and get or lives organized before we go out on duty again, so we don't have time, mom."

"Well, see…" she motioned to Alanna.

"She asked us for help." Alanna grinned. "And we're glad to give you guys more time, considering all of that you've added up over the last couple years."

Kel sighed. "Fine. But we don't have any reservations anywhere, or anything."

Thayet rolled her eyes. "I'm sure," she told Kel, "That I can do something in less than five minutes. I'll be back."

She walked out the door, leaving all of the younger girls stunned. Ilane shook her head. "Always was a fast one, Thayet was."

Alanna nodded. "Yeah, she was. Can't say that I wish she wasn't though. She keeps Jon on his feet."

Kaslin grinned at the girls. "Alanna and Ilane went to school together. Ilane helped plan Thayet's wedding with Alanna."

Kel smirked. "Oh really… Is that why you're so good at, mother? Been doing it for years?"

Ilane rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe… But still…"

Kel laughed. "I never took you for the wedding planner type, but you could get some good business if you wanted, down in Corus."

Lalasa nodded. "I do part time work for a seamstress who handles weddings. She says I should open a business and then she could get rid of all of the young girls who want strange things."

Alanna laughed. "And here I though weddings were painful."

"Yes!" Kel cried. "This is. I hate dressing up. I really do. And then they couldn't even give me a good choice of dresses…" Kel glared at her mother.

Thayet arrived back in the room with flourish. "You have two weeks worth of reservations in Carthak, at the Emperor Mage Resort. They won't accept pay, either. So don't try." She gave Kel a warning look.

Kel rolled her eyes. "Freebies! Whoopie."

Yuki laughed. Shinko snickered.

"Alright, ladies. They're ready to begin," Piers held the door open, letting them all file out. "You look beautiful, my dear."

Kel smiled at her father. "Thanks, dad."

Piers led his daughter out of the room in the Banquet Hall that sat by the city's park and into the hallway. "I mean it, Kel. You're going to render him speechless."

Kel smirked. "I already do, just not with my alluring looks."

Piers laughed. "Come on, they're going to start."

The twins went first, followed by Chandrel, Yuki and Shinko. Finally Kel walked down the isle, on her father's arm.

Looking at her, Joren proved her father right. He was speechless. Kel, who was normally a pretty girl with clear skin, a few freckles and, when she smiled, a beautifully lit up face, was now gorgeous. He'd heard her complain about the dress, but it hugged her in the right spots, accenting her curves and her long legs. Her shoulders were bare, and her brown hair, concealed barely beneath the veil was in curling ringlets that fell past the scooped neckline of the dress.

She was holding a bouquet of flowers, twelve white roses, two red ones in the middle, and the whole thing seemingly held together with the columbine that wrapped around her hands.

Joren couldn't believe it. She was the most beautiful girl in the world. He smiled at her, and, finally, the ice was gone from his gaze.

----

When Kel was little, their were two girls that were her friends, Shinko, then called cricket, and Yuki. They were little girls, who learned to fight like all women did, and learned to use the favored weapon, the staff like glaive.

But they were also girls, and in that respect they played like girls. Often, during the later day, one could find them in a room alone, blankets all around them and old things of their mothers.

They were little girls playing dress up. They played wedding - repeatedly - and played K'mir and lowlander, a game popular with the boys for centuries, because of their famous civil wars that wracked the county every other decade or so.

It had become a popular game with the girls too, when outside, and the girls of the young ages were even able to beat the boys, and, since they were forced to always be the K'mir (they liked being them the best, though) they K'mir always won.

And they had promised, that they would stick together. And that they would see each other's marriages and children as they were born.

When Kel moved back to the mainland, and then entered the academy, she had forgotten their games of play. She never lost her skill with the glaive completely, but she wasn't as good as the ladies there.

But she'd never forgotten the promises. She'd just never expected them to come true.

**{A/N:** I know, it's short. I'm sorry.

Queen's Own: Of course Darkness and Moonlight! They have to be in there. They're... They're... I don't. Cool People. lol.

Morsus: well, they might...

PsychoLioness13: yes, sometimes I get inspiration and it gives me a good line. lol.

jewlz555: still can't wait, heheh!

ossini: heh. thanks.

Mystery Princess: Well, were talking about little boys here... of course they'll tease each other.

Darking Queen: heh... I'll send an email when I have more time- I have LOTS to write! hehe. It's like a second story, almost.

**}**


	15. 14: Only Our Finest

Love or Something Like It   
By Unperfect Wolf **  
©** Kendra-Lynne 2004 **  
An** Unperfect Fanfiction **  
A** Spilt-AppleJucie Production **  
Rated:** PG13 **  
Summary:** {K/J} {Unfinished} Two partners, one infant and the whole world who doesn't know a thing.**   
Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be mine, I don't have money because I have no job so don't sue me. All belongs to Ms Tamora Pierce

Chapter 14: Only Our Finest

Neal had watched the wedding with all of the other guests, many of whom he knew. Or, he amended, at least knew of.

He'd spied Wydlon Cavall, their former training whatever, head of the academy guy… Neal had thought hard and still didn't know what to call him. Kel would know. But then again, she was Kel.

But, he'd had know clue that either of them liked him, and wondered what he was doing there. And seeing the president was a shock. He knew that Kel and Joren did work for him, and that they talked to him. He even knew that the last time he'd insisted that they call him Jon, since he knew them so well. Even went so far as to call them friends.

Remembering that, Neal rolled his eyes. Of course, if they were friends, he would be there.

And he saw a good number of people who looked like Kel in one way or another and then a bunch of kids that looked like a bunch of mini-mindelans.

There were a lot of them. And he'd seen her mother, holding a small child in her arms. One of her sisters was holding another. He never did figure out which one was Vivian, or whatever Kel's girl's name was.

Yuki had looked beautiful, going down the isle ahead of Kel. He'd smiled at her, and she had waved. Kel hadn't looked at anyone but Joren. He'd seen her eyes widen when she saw him, and, glancing at Joren, saw that Kel had caught him into some sort of a trance.

Looking back at her, he realized she did look beautiful too. She looked so different from the Kel he knew. Of course, the Kel _he_ knew wouldn't go and get pregnant by the guy who had tried to prove for years that women couldn't do as most men, and told her she'd never become as good as him.

And look at them, now they were getting married.

Of course, it disgusted Neal. So he sat there, under the tree, and pouted while the rest of the guest swirled around the happy couple and their child, bestowing upon them gifts and well wishes, happy smiles and laughter.

And no one but Yuki came to see him. Joren did glance at him and frown, then nudged Kel who hadn't been far from his side the whole time. When she looked over at him, she frowned too, before Yuki started dragging her somewhere. Looking back over her should, she looked worriedly at, before turning back to Yuki and disappearing into the crowd.

That night, Kel fell onto the bed, her feet tired and unwilling to get her onto her feet again. Joren laughed as she gave a dramatic sigh of relief, though the pain was real enough.

"Those shoes are killers! I don't know how anyone could wear those!" Kel cried, shooting him an accusatory glare, as if someone he was at fault for that.

Joren ignored that. "And most women don't understand how you can wear the boots you wear on duty all of the time."

Kel rolled her eyes. Leave it to Joren to point out that. Then she made a face. "How do you know?"

"Because," he told her, helping her up off the bed, "They all ask me how you can do it when you're not looking."

Kel laughed, gingerly stepping around them room and finishing her packing. Her brother was going to drive them to the nearest city - note city, not town, or group of houses - so that they could catch their plane to Carthak.

Joren grabbed the last of the things from the bathroom, returning to the bedroom to see Kel muttering over her suitcase. He stood their, watching her for a few moments before she looked up at him.

She smiled and reached a hand out for the things he had. Responding slowly, he shook himself and gave them to her. Straightening up, Kel grinned. "Done!"

Joren shook his head. This was going to be interesting.

Upon landing at the Carthak International Airport, Kel and Joren were lost. They'd never entered a city by plane (Kel had admitted it to Joren, and he had then told her the same) and had no clue where or how to go about finding this Emperor's Mage Resort.

Just as they were about to give up and ask for help, which is amazingly hard for two people who are used to being in control and always having at least one escape rout open from every place they go, a man approached them. He said his name was Timon something- neither could remember -and he was from the Emperor's Mage Resort and had a car waiting.

With relief, Kel and Joren followed him. When he said car, he'd meant limo, a very large, classy limo that earned them envious looks from hassled travelers.

On the way to the resort, Kel had questioned Timon.

"Do you always meet your guests at the terminal and escort them back?"

Timon smiled lightly. "Of course not, madam, only our finest."

Joren had raised an eyebrow at that. Kel looked astounded. "Your finest?"

Timon nodded. "A friend on Mrs Conté is a friend of ours. She is a good friend of Mr. Illinait."

Kel's face broke into a smile at that name. "Oh! Kali's fiancé!"

Joren glanced at her. Kel laughed. "Kalasin Conté, dear."

Joren rolled his eyes, but his face broke into a slight smile. The rest of the ride was made in companionable silence.

Kel could not believe this place. They'd put them up in their honeymoon sweet, leaving a chilled bottle of wine and a mini fridge full of drinks and snacks with a note that said "Everything's on us - Kaddar."

Joren had let out a loud laugh at that. "Too bad all of our stays aren't like this, eh?"

Kel had nodded, wandering around the large suite. She was amazed at the fineness of it all, and was shocked to think she was spending her honeymoon here.

Joren watched Kel move through the rooms, staying in the main one. He settled onto a couch, his now-warm eyes following the almost seductive sway of his wife's hips.

He couldn't believe, even after all that planning and the actually ceremony that she was his wife. He'd spent a good part of his life hating her and another part barely accepting her and now he was her husband.

Despite the fact that many people seemed to think he would make a bad husband, he was determined to be a good one. Even if he wasn't in love with Kel, he liked her and cared about her. He trusted her- and that was something more important than love to him. He didn't trust many people, and he thought that his wife should be one of them.

When Kel returned from her exploring, her eyes were wide. "Oh, Joren! You should see the view! And the bath… It's a Jacuzzi tub…" she smiled.

Joren laughed. "Only the best for friends of the owner's son."

Kel's nose crinkled slightly and she grinned at him. "Oh, but of _course._"

It was near noon, but they'd been up all night. Kel had caught a few hours of sleep on the plane, but Joren had caught just a few minutes here and there.

"Why don't you take a nap, Joren? We can go to dinner after that and then come back and relax," Kel said, noting the circles under his eyes.

Joren smiled at her concern. He'd heard her mothering her friends, and while they were on the last mission she'd even started it with him, but very subtly and never like this.

Of course, they hadn't been married then.

Standing, Joren grabbed her hand and pulled her up too. "Only if you take one with me," he told her, raising one eyebrow.

Kel laughed, "Of course!"

He moved to the bedroom, not releasing her hand. As they stripped their jackets and shoes off, Joren wondered if he'd ever been this content in his life. In the back of his mind was the nagging worry about Vivian, about not being there to protect her, but he knew that Kel's family would look out for her. Still, the feeling that _he_ should be protecting her was flaring up inside of him like never before.

Kel sighed as she lay down, the only thing that would have made the trip any better being the presence of her daughter. But she knew that this time with Joren would be nice, especially for their new found sex life.

She knew that, in general, Joren didn't abstain from sex. But while on missions, he usually did, and if he didn't, he usually was with a hooker. She'd never understood, but he had explained to her that he didn't want to piss anyone they were supposed to be watching off or blow their cover as a couple.

After awhile, Joren could hear the even breathing of his wife, and, after moving so that his arm was around her, he too fell asleep.

The only vacation Kel had ever taken was when she was in Yamani. Her parents could never afford to take her on one, what with all of her siblings and nieces and nephews. But her friends' parents could.

She could remember that there was a beach and lots of sand and that the water was cold and looked like it went on forever. She could remember the stars on the beach, the amazing sight of millions of them, more than she'd ever seen, even back on the mainland in her home where their was barely any lights.

And that was it.

Joren had never had a vacation in his life. As a officer, he'd taken breaks. Until now, his vacation experience had been a trip to Kel's family's place, where in he was married to her because they had claimed Vivian as their own.

Okay, so Kel had put his name down and he'd pretty much just been sucked in by the girl's eyes.

But this place… He'd never seen anything like it. But he wanted to see more of it.

**{A/N:** Okay, so I've neglected to post another note that said - "My parents are finalizing the separation and I must be the support for my mom because my dad is a dick and has a girlfriend before the divorce. And btw- my mom's still in love with him and doesn't care about the girlfriend and still wants him in our house. No thanks."

But I was sick for almost a month because of a sinus infection that I didn't get treated. Good on me, eh?

The website for the story was updated tonight/this morning as well. And since there's so many reviews I'm only replying to some, everyone else's name is at the bottom.

Again, sorry about the month long time away. On with the thanks!

DarkAngelius: me be legally blind with out contacts. /frowns/ and thanks for the spelling tip!

Darking Queen: thankees!!!

Rowana: I'm sorry I scared you!

Sora: one of the best? wooooo!

Trenidy: thank you! Complements are so nice! /grins/

dreaming star: those seem to be popular.

Morsus: Oh, believe me, plot abounds. I mean, I put some characters in there that need to resurface and cause trouble plus kel and Joren not causing trouble? nah, that can't be.

Queen's Own: Well, I ride western when I go visit my family in montana...

awesome thanks to: dracorium :: Ruby :: Candy :: jewlz555 :: PsychoLioness13 :: ossini :: oceanspike :: Alessia :: carmel :: Ti-Ti :: Mystery Princess :: Lady of Masbolle

**}**


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